Of Irregulars and Hunters: Genesis
by Goldenmane
Summary: My take on the origin of the X universe kept as canon as possible.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own no one from the games, I'm just using them for a bit of fun. I make no money from this and write only because I have the urge to. I would like to thank teh kittykat for beta'ing this chapter

Story notes: This is going to be as cannon as I can keep it, though there will be some literary license to fill in the gaps that aren't clear/known from the games. This starts long before X1 and is my take on the history of the X series.

All comments are welcome. Read and enjoy.

**Timescape Saga**

**Of Irregulars and Hunters**

**Book One  
Genesis**

**Prologue  
Discovery**

**(C)11/05/2004 - 05/01/2005 All Rights Reserved  
Edited 05/22/2005  
By Goldenmane**

"Still nothing confirmed, Doc," a young male voice shouted over the racket of the digger as it bored its way through the frozen earth, "but that last scan indicated that whatever it is down there is_ huge_."

Doctor Cain nodded. "It might not be final evidence to my theory on Mesozoic plant life," he said as he moved closer to the young man, huddled in his parka, "but we can't pass up any opportunity we find. If it's big enough then maybe we can get more funding."

"But what if it turns out to be nothing? Then we've wasted what we have left."

"Cedric," Doctor Cain said, "think positive."

"I know, Doc, I know," Cedric said with a sigh, "but we started digging yesterday and we still haven't reached it. And everyone knows there's nothing at Point E-46."

Doctor Cain nodded. "Have faith," he said, "we'll reach it. Are the others ready to go down when we do break into it?"

"They've been ready," Cedric said, "Vickie said she wanted to lead the expedition."

"She can second it," Doctor Cain said, "this one is personally mine."

"Aren't you a bit too old to go running around underground?"

"Cedric, my boy, you're never too old for adventure," Doctor Cain said with a chuckle, turning at the shouts behind him. He watched as several people ran to the various machines they had set up to break through the surface and down to whatever it was that was buried there. It was almost deafening when the machines fell still, their droning whine ceasing.

One of the workers ran over, a huge grin on her face. "We did it. We've found a way into whatever it is. It seems stable enough but I wouldn't trust it just yet."

"Get a good scan of it and tell Vickie to get them set up by the edge. We're going in as soon as you can give us the green," Doctor Cain said, "Cedric, you hold down the fort. I think we have a date with destiny waiting for us down there."

"Just come back safe, Doc," Cedric said.

"Oh, we will, no worries my boy, now," Doctor Cain said as he turned and headed back to the fair sized cabin that housed all of them on the dig, set into the forest around their clearing, "time to get ready." He didn't stop, not until he saw Victoria with her small crew, already bringing the ropes and other climbing gear down to the actual dig site.

"Doctor, there you are," Vickie said, "have you heard the news?"

"Since when wouldn't the project leader be notified of any changes," Doctor Cain said, "and I'm going too. I need to see what's down there. I'll head this expedition."

"I figured I'd save the strain on your old bones and lead this one," Vickie said.

Doctor Cain snorted. "Old bones indeed. Now, no arguments, I'm coming along."

"As you wish," Vickie said, "we'll make sure to bring an extra set of gear."

Doctor Cain nodded and fell into step beside of her as they walked back to the pit.

"So what do you think is down there?" Vickie asked to break the silence.

"We'll know when we get there, my dear," Doctor Cain said.

"I just hope we're not opening Pandora's Box," she said as she stopped at the edge of the pit, setting her gear down before motioning for the others to do the same.

"Only time will tell," Doctor Cain said as he began to shrug into the climbing gear, securing it and waiting as one of the assistant climbers checked the straps and clasps to make sure they were set to go, "but I don't think we're looking at anything that'll be a harm. There's no energy signatures, nothing but one large lump of metal. It might simply be a time capsule or something like that." He secured the pouches to his belt before slipping the night goggles around his neck, making sure his light was good to go.

"But _that_ large an area?" Vickie asked as one of the others gave the green light to go down.

"As I said, we'll know once we get down there," Doctor Cain said, "now, it's not nice to keep an old man waiting." Once his rope was secure to the stake in the ground he moved to the edge and jumped, slowly rappelling down, his gaze mostly to the darkness below. Once it became harder for him to see his rope he stopped and placed his goggles on, switching them on and continuing down.

By the time he reached the bottom, a mostly stable slab of what looked like metal, his arms were tired. But he wasn't about to let that stop him from searching around. He moved away, slowly examining each and every piece of rubble. He heard soft thuds as Vickie and the others landed, but soon he tuned it all out, his mind running with the possibilities of what this could have once looked like.

"I think we can fit in here," Vickie said, "we'll go one by one until we know how stable this place is."

"Agreed," Doctor Cain said, "and I go first."

"Doctor!" Vickie exclaimed, "you know how dangerous some digs can be."

"And I'm an old man," Doctor Cain said, "so if something happens to me it's not like one of you youngsters getting hurt."

Vickie fell quiet as Doctor Cain passed, peering into the hole in question.

"Looks stable enough," he said before climbing through. He moved out of the way, following the remains of what must have been a wall. He couldn't tell much, just that this was some huge, metal structure. But what, remained to be seen.

He pushed the hood back from his parka before he unzippered it. He could still see his breath even down here but the chill of the ruins couldn't match the cold of the surface. He reached in and hauled out a pen and some paper before making a grid and visually marking the room down. Once done he ventured on to a shattered doorway, crawling under the fallen beam. The corridor was mostly collapsed, but still passable. On the other side was a large room with various objects scattered about. He picked up the nearest one, something that looked like an arm, but it belonged to no human. A finger traced the metal rods and the cables attached to it, parts of the outer shell still intact.

Doctor Cain picked through the rubble, examining the various parts, trying to figure out how all of that fit together, whether it was part of one machine or many. Some of the parts didn't seem to mesh, but it could have been that he was missing a few pieces.

Setting the last one down he had found he rose and walked around, finding a few cabinets holding other parts, other machines he could only guess what they did.

"I get the feeling this was some kind of workshop," Vickie said, "those pieces looked too humanoid . . . "

"Well, I remember as a kid hearing about robots," Doctor Cain said, "I always thought it was just a fantasy since by that time no robot had been seen for decades. Definitely it would have been interesting, to say the least, to talk to a machine who could talk back."

"Do you think those parts are robot parts?" Vickie asked.

"Who knows, my dear," Doctor Cain said, "we might find out as we go deeper."

He didn't bother to look at her as he moved through another destroyed doorway, pausing as he looked around. A few more pieces could be found, but not as many as in the other room. This room looked, more or less, in tact as compared to the other ones. The door at the end, even, was closed. Upon further examination he found it unmovable. No doubt because no power coursed through this place. That was something he was going to have to have the boys do. Get down there with some of the heavy equipment to help open and shore up the outer rooms so they could do a more thorough investigation. Not to mention getting some decent lighting down there.

Doctor Cain left no literal stone unturned as he searched, his eyes going wide as he opened one of the cabinets, finding not more parts but papers. He removed them and lifted his goggles down, reaching for the flashlight and turning it on. He scanned the first paper, his eyes going wide when he read the inscription at the bottom.

" 'I don't want him finding the capsule. The last thing I need is for more problems to arise,' " Doctor Cain read aloud, voice soft and still full of disbelief, " 'if this test proves a success then this will change the future of the Earth. It'll open up new avenues of exploration for humans while keeping them out of risk. I only hope that my theories are correct and that I haven't created a problem for future generations to deal with. But, as they say, only time will tell. I have yet to activate the capsule, I still have reservations about doing this. If I had more time . . . maybe I would feel more at ease about this. But, as it is, there is no more time. Maybe tomorrow I'll start the power flowing to the capsule, start what might be the next major step in human history. But for now, it's time for the old to rest . . . September 17th, 20XX T. Right.' "

Blinking before looking around in the dark, Doctor Cain felt his heart skip a beat. These ruins . . . those parts . . . confirmed one theory even if it wasn't what he was aiming for. This place . . .was Doctor Thomas Right's lab. Everyone knew about Doctor Right. He was one of the worlds most brilliant roboticists. Though what he had created had been lost to the annals of time. But now, here, in this very place, decades later, no, a _century_ later, here he stood, holding a piece of history in his hands.

He slipped the goggles back on, shutting the light off and putting it back. He carefully slid the papers into one of the pouches before hurrying back to where the others were.

"Don't touch a thing," Doctor Cain said, "we're leaving for now until I can get some lighting down here. I think we've just found a missing piece of the past."

"Doctor . . .what do you mean?" Vickie asked.

"This, my dear, is all that remains of a brilliant man's work," Doctor Cain said, "I need to get this place listed as a historic monument."

"But Doctor, _why_?" Vickie asked again.

"Because," Doctor Cain said as he rehooked the rope, "this was once the lab of Doctor Right."

He heard the gasps behind him as he double checked the belts before beginning the slow climb back up, forced to pause along the way until his arms could rest. Though once he entered the light he pushed on ahead, letting the younger boys help him up over the edge and remove the climbing straps.

"So, what was down there?" Cedric asked.

"An answer to our prayers," Doctor Cain said as he fought for breath, "consider our funding permanent. I'll explain later."

Once he was able to, Doctor Cain returned to his room, shedding his parka and tossing it aside. He flipped open his laptop and called up a few programs. As he waited he flipped through the notes, each and every page capturing him, holding him fast, as if he could actually see Doctor Right scribbling these notes down, almost as if this was his personal journal, or at least, parts of it.

He began to type into his laptop, updating his own journal of this dig, still not able to believe what he was actually writing.

"But just what is this capsule," Doctor Cain said as he leafed carefully again through the aged paper, "and why is it so important? _Who_ didn't you want to get a hold of it and do these design notes have anything to do with it?" he mused aloud.

He stopped at one page. Most of the terms he was unfamiliar with since they had nothing even remotely resembling a robot in this time, but enough he could figure out. It looked almost like schematics, or at least the pre-design stage of what would later become schematics. Had Right built another robot? Was that what the capsule contained? If so, and it still functioned, this would indeed be a revolutionary breakthrough.

With a tired sigh, Doctor Cain set about preserving the ancient notes, his mind running over and over the tales and stories he had heard as a kid. Tales that told of robots who had fought other robots for world domination. Of how many a war had interrupted daily life as an evil scientist tried to take over the world with his robotic creations, only to be stopped by a single, valiant blue robot who's name was lost to the dust of history, even if his legends hadn't. But, those were only stories told to children to keep them entertained. They couldn't have possibly been real. If they had been then why didn't they have robots in this time?

Doctor Cain gave a hearty yawn and decided to call it a night. With those tales still chasing circles in his mind, he tried to settle down and get some sleep before first light. He knew tomorrow was going to be a busy day for all of them.

"Swing that light over here," a voice called out, "I need more light to finish this sketch."

Doctor Cain watched as the workers mapped out every inch of the lab they could get to, some parts still blocked off to them. He had the artists in the group working hard to create a detailed replica of what they had found. Later he'd have them compare notes, ideas and come up with what the place must have looked like before its destruction.

Vickie hurried over with the portable phone. "Doctor, it's Cedric for you. He says he's arrived back at your lab safe and sound and he's already started the team analyzing and preserving the papers."

"Good, good," Doctor Cain said as he took the phone, "Cedric, glad to hear the good news."

"_So, how far have you made it into there_?" Cedric asked.

"Not as far as I would have liked," Doctor Cain said, "there are too many areas that have completely collapsed and we need the boys to get the movers down here so we can clear a path."

"_Hopefully you won't do too much damage to the place_," Cedric said, "_I've managed to get a hold of Angela and she says that just as soon as we can prove that these notes did indeed come from Doctor Right and that we can confirm there was an actual capsule buried down there, we're going to get full licensing to put this place on the historic register with full right of ownership until she can find a rightful heir to Doctor Right_."

"Understood," Doctor Cain said, "keep us posted, just as we'll keep you posted."

"_Understood, Doc, and good hunting_," Cedric said before the connection was cut.

Doctor Cain handed Vickie back the phone and turned to look at the area. "I still can't believe we're standing in the very spot where Doctor Right worked."

"I know," Vickie said, "it's hard to get a full grasp on what we've found."

Doctor Cain moved away, looking over one of the artists shoulders. "Once we're done here I'm going to let them clear this place out before we move the machines in to break through that wall."

Vickie nodded. "How long do you think that'll be?"

"Give them a few hours," Doctor Cain said, "we need to tag everything first and get it boxed and hauled out of here. This room has more spare parts than any other. I'm assuming it must have been a workshop of some sorts. I don't think it was a storage room. Some of these machines over here," he said as he walked over to a still display, "seem more like data computers than recorders."

"That was my first assumption too," Vickie said, "I'll go tell them to get ready with the packing equipment. We'll get it lifted down to the outer rooms and wait for your signal to start packing."

Doctor Cain nodded. He listened to the young lady's footsteps as she walked away, his mind elsewhere. They had been making painstakingly slow progress in the lab, both moving debris and mapping the entire place. Already three days had passed and they were only a quarter of the way through this level, and they still had the lower floors to explore.

With a soft sigh Doctor Cain stood there, huddled in his parka. The weather outside had turned a bit for the worst. The temperature had dropped on them as a series of cold fronts had passed through, dumping snow on them. Even where they were, so far underneath the ground, the elderly doctor could see his breath. The last weather reports he had gotten before heading down to watch over the others as they worked had threatened more snow for that night.

Impatience soon set in and Doctor Cain found himself pacing around until the artists finished. Once they had packed up and left the area he signaled Vickie to bring in the others to start tagging and moving the items in the room. Now with something to do, Doctor Cain eagerly tagged and carefully wrapped each item, placing it in a marked box for later examination once they got everything back to his lab. Vickie had once called him a bit too eager to find this so-called capsule, but, for the elderly doctor, it was a dream come true.

Once done he allowed the engineers to set up, shoring the walls and bringing the diggers in to move the rubble blocking the rest of their path. He waited to the side, staying with Vickie in another room, well out of the danger zone. He listened as the machines started up, their loud roaring echoing along the metal walls, making the entire area deafening.

When suddenly the machines fell silent with a loud whine, Doctor Cain moved closer. He could hear shouts and voices, all urgent. One of the workers ran out.

"Doc, we've found something buried under part of the roof that had collapsed," the worker said, "whatever it is it's huge and there's power going to it."

Doctor Cain pushed the worker aside and entered. He stood in awe for a moment before walking over, scrambling over remnants of debris. He could see the flicker of lights along the object. He could hear a soft hum emanating from the machine and when he laid his hand against the metal he could feel the vibrations even through his gloves. "Whatever you do, get this thing uncovered but not at its expense. Hopefully this is a working terminal that'll answer our questions."

The worker nodded and began shouting orders to the others.

Doctor Cain moved back into a safe zone, though this time he watched as they slowly uncovered what wasn't a computer terminal or even a computer bank, but something else, something that just might be the capsule the notes referred to.

Once they were done and the machines were out of the way, Doctor Cain moved in. He let the more agile Vickie clamber over it, taking measurements while he did his own visual examination. The thing, whatever it was, was huge, standing much taller than himself and wider as well. He could see what appeared to be a darker blue canopy set low into the dark blue metal. Maybe some sort of protective coating to preserve the capsule? Doctor Cain ran a hand along the surface, wondering what, if anything, they'd find inside.

His path took him around the capsule where he found a machine that sat attached to the capsule but apart from it. Doctor Cain ran a hand over the machine, surprised when it flickered to life. The screen went from black to blood red and a warning siren began to wail as the screen flashed. He jumped back at the sudden activation, though it gained his complete attention as words began to scroll across the screen.

_Warning: _

"X" is the first of a new generation of robots which contain an innovative new feature - the ability to think, feel and make their own decisions. However this ability could be very dangerous. If "X" were to break the first rule of robotics, "a robot must never harm a human being", the results would be disastrous and I fear that no force on Earth could stop him.

Approximately thirty years will be required before we can safely confirm his reliability. Unfortunately I will not live to see that day, nor do I have anyone to carry on my work. Therefore, I have decided to seal him in this capsule, which will test his internal systems until his reliability has been confirmed. Please do not disturb the capsule until that time.

_"X" possesses great risks as well as great possibilities. I can only hope for the best._

_September 18, 20XX_

_T. Right_

"My God," Doctor Cain exclaimed softly, "this is it. This is the capsule that the notes referred to." He continued to scan the machine then the capsule. As far as he could tell all of the indicators read green, that it was safe to release this "X", whatever it was.

"Doctor, what was that alarm?" When Vickie dropped down to ground level, Doctor Cain only pointed to the monitor. She went over and read the warning as it scrolled through yet again on its continual cycle.

Doctor Cain turned and watched her reaction. "This is it, my dear. We've found a piece of history."

"But . . . it says that "X" may be a danger," Vickie said, "that it might be out of control when it wakes."

"And it might be just as safe," Doctor Cain said, "science never prospered by those who would not take a chance."

Vickie didn't seem convinced, however.

"Tomorrow, my dear, we'll open it," Doctor Cain said, "right now it's late. I want to make sure we have everything set up before we open it."

Vickie only nodded, remaining silent.

Doctor Cain gave one last touch to the capsule before following his assistant out of the ruins and back to the lift they had erected. Once back to his room in the main cabin, he immediately opened his laptop and began to type.

With that done, Doctor Cain powered his machine down and undressed, slipping into his bed. Sleep, however, wouldn't come easily as his mind raced with what this "X" looked like, what kind of robot he was, what kind of information Doctor Right had programmed into him. Too many questions with not enough answers came to mind, preventing sleep from overtaking the doctor.

Which meant that morning came all too soon.

Breakfast was a hurried event. Doctor Cain wanted to get down there as soon as they could to open the capsule. However, the snows moved in as predicted and slowed their trek back to the dig site until later that evening.

He had assembled a small team to be there, just enough to witness this first step toward a new future, but not too many to maybe spook "X" as he woke for the first time.

Doctor Cain, once they were ready, activated the start up sequence. He waited as the machine ticked off each item as they read green, signaling that "X" was 'healthy' if nothing else.

"Are you sure you should be doing this without the army being here?" one of the male workers asked, "I mean, we've all read the warnings and from what it says, this thing is dangerous."

"That may be," Doctor Cain said, "but we won't know until we open this, will we?"

"The army is going to have to know about this now," Vickie said, "because this now becomes a matter of possible defense."

"We'll handle that if we need to," Doctor Cain said, "right now we should give "X" a warm welcome. After all, we are the first people he's going to see when he wakes."

"What if something goes wrong?" the only other lady besides Vickie down there asked.

"Have faith, my dear," Doctor Cain said.

When finally there was a hiss and the lid rose, Doctor Cain grinned. Once the lid was back he spoke the first words the robot had probably ever heard.

"This is going to change the world as we know it . . . . "


	2. Reboot

Disclaimer - I don't own them, just doing this because it was a slow, snowy day at work (and the original draft filled one sheet of paper and both free areas of a stock list O.o) Though this revision happened during the fall of '04 and will expand this fic quite a bit. I would like to thank teh kittykat for beta'ing this fic for me 

This is set WAY before X1 and is my version of how things came to be. This is going to be done as accurately as possible using information from all of the X games. Of course, there will be some liberties taken, especially if the information isn't readily available, but it will be an attempt to follow a logical path as to how events in the X series came to be.

Read and enjoy!

**Timescape Saga**

**Of Irregulars and Hunters**

**Book One  
Genesis**

**Chapter One  
Reboot**

**(C) 10 - 19 - 2004 to 10 - 31 - 2004 All Rights Reserved  
Edited 05/01/2005 - 05/22/2005  
By Goldenmane**

_My son . . . _

**_Back up systems initiated._**

**_Loading boot protocols._**

**_Protocols accepted._**

**_Loading main files._**

**_Main files loaded._**

**_Initiating main core._**

**_Main core functioning at 100 percent_**

_I have so much hope in you. . ._

**_Testing total available memory._**

**_Total memory allotted 32,768 TB_**

**_Actual memory used 1892TB_**

**_Warning. Memory files not detected. Initiating back up source. _**

**_Loading basic language parameters._**

**_Loading learning program files._**

_**Loading basic interaction program files.**_

**_Files loaded._**

_I only wished I could have lived to see this day_

**_Testing cache._**

**_Primary data cache listed at 512 KB_**

**_Primary instruction cache listed at 768 KB_**

**_Back up cache listed at 32,768 KB_**

**_Cache operating at 100 percent._**

_You are the hope of the future . . ._

**_Performing standard system check._**

**_Broad-range eye camera. 100 percent._**

**_Voice recognition system. 100 percent._**

**_Voice generation system. 100 percent._**

_I hope that future is a peaceful one for you_

**_Energy generator. 100 percent._**

**_Micro-fusion fuel tank. 100 percent._**

**_Central joint-controlling system. 100 percent._**

**_Active weapon. 100 percent. Detecting completed buster unit._**

**_Unit listed as X-buster sub listing as Rock buster Mk 17._**

_**Sub weapons found. Listed as variable. No further data exists.**_

_But I fear what you might find in the future . . . _

**_Energy amplifier. 100 percent. _**

**_Gyroscopic Stabilization System. 100 percent_**

**_Acceleration System. 100 percent. _**

**_Detecting interior skeleton file. Listing file._**

**_Reactive armor skeleton which reduces damage by 93 percent_**

**_Detecting exterior shell file. Listing file._**

**_Body skin constructed of a lightweight 'Titanium-X' alloy._**

_Be well, "X" and know that I am with you . . . always. _

The first thing his senses detected was a faint whirring sound. The sound of internal generators running, the soft hum-thump of his core, the almost undetectable sound of his coolant system working. Then other sounds became clear. Voices, but the words were still jumbled. He sorted through the pathways in his memory files trying to sort the words out. His processors told him that there were at least five distinct voices, all ranging between thirty and fifty. Or so his speech recognition programs told him. He could pick out three male and two female voices, but nothing more.

He felt an automatic program kick in, analyzing each and every part of his system, leaving nothing untouched as it reconfirmed operating parameters. He felt the power slowly flowing to his extremities, bringing a sense of feeling back into them. However, he refrained from moving, not until his internal programs registered it was safe for him to do so.

He heard a click and a rushing of air, air his systems said was not the same as had been trapped in the capsule with him. This air was different, fresh, not stale. The voices were clearer now. One elderly sounding voice, the closest to his audio receivers whispered something that his programs translated as.

"This is going to change the world as we know it."

"Doctor Cain," a female voice said, younger sounding, "how can you be so sure it'll change the world?"

"You know full well we have nothing this advanced on Earth," the voice belonging to who he supposed this Doctor Cain was said, "and even though this robot is around a hundred years old, it can still give us some possible advances in technology."

He felt a skip in his core at that. One hundred years? From what little he had been programmed with he knew that humans didn't live that long. Which meant only one thing. His creator was dead.

An odd sensation overcame his circuits, something he had never felt before. He tried to analyze the anomaly, to see what it was. Was it a glitch? Was it a part of his programming that was just now awakening? When he found nothing he could readily identify as a potential problem he ceased the scan and waited for the rest of his programs to finish their checks.

"How do you know it still functions?" another female voice asked, "you've been trying to revive it for three days with no luck. What makes you so sure this will do it?"

"Have faith, my dear," Doctor Cain said, "we've had greater challenges than this. I'm confident we can revive him."

Slowly, when the diagnostics read green, he shifted his fingers, finding the motors stiff but functional. The same with his knee joints as he tried to shift his legs. His eyelids twitched as a soft sound came from his vocal processors. A word his programming told him was important. Something that he was now lacking. Something that sounded like "Father . . . " a sound so faint no human could have heard it.

"It's waking up," Doctor Cain said.

"Everyone back, just in case . . . " a male voice said.

Very slowly he opened his eyes, blinking, feeling the shutters in his optical array open to allow more light in. He looked around as much as he could without moving his head, letting his circuits clear and bring the world into focus. His gaze lit on the nearest human and he blinked again as his optical sensors cleared, revealing an aged man, a wide grin on his face, slightly bent over and looking down at him.

"Welcome to the future," the man said, "my name is Doctor Cain."

He blinked, not sure how to respond. He had some programming on how to react to that, but nothing that said exactly why he should respond to it.

"Maybe it's malfunctioned?" a female said.

Slowly he turned his head to look at the young lady. He could almost literally see the fear radiating from her, his initial scan registering her elevated body temperature, the quickness of her breaths, the way she shifted constantly.

"He just needs time to adjust," Doctor Cain said, "after all, X has been in stasis for over a hundred years."

X? Was that his name? He searched again through his boot up files, finding no mention of X anywhere in either the registry files or the root commands except for his weapons program. He did find his designation, his model number: CPS-9204. But nothing else that contained 'X' in it.

"I know your systems probably need time to adjust being active," Doctor Cain said and the robot turned his head to face the speaker. However, Doctor Cain looked past him. "We all know what the warning message said. 'X possesses great risks as well as great possibilities.' And I can see how someone as strong as he is could be a danger. But, if he was, why hasn't he attacked now?"

No one said a thing and slowly the robot sat, lifting a still sluggish hand to his forehead.

"When you think you can walk," Doctor Cain said, "we'll head back to camp. I want to scour this place to see what else we can find for information."

He slowly closed his eyes, even as he listened to the human.

"How can you be sure it can understand you?" another female voice asked, "so far it's shown no sign of recognizing your voice."

"Maybe it is because I have only just awoken," he finally said, voice soft, raspy as his throat mechanisms worked for the first true time since his creation, "and I need time to adjust to this."

"It's only natural, my boy," Doctor Cain said, "and we'll give you all the time you need to adjust. I bet you have a lot of questions for us, just as we have a lot of questions for you."

He nodded, then slowly opened his eyes and looked over to Doctor Cain. For just a split second his expression was unguarded, making him seem child like. "Who am I?" he asked, slightly tilting his head to the side. This came directly from his core.

"Who _are_ you?" Doctor Cain asked, a hint of something in his voice that was registered as incredulous, "you're X, the last known robot created by Doctor Right over a hundred years ago."

"Then why are there no memory files associated with my creation?" he asked, "and how do you know my name is 'X'?"

"That's what was listed in the warning Doctor Right left," Doctor Cain said, "he called you 'X'."

The robot nodded then looked down, a sad expression on his face, the feelings alien to him but seeming right.

"X, what's wrong?" Doctor Cain asked.

Deciding that, if everyone else was going to call him 'X' he might as well adopt it as his name, X sighed softly. "It is too . . . confusing . . . I know what I am . . .but there is nothing to confirm I was created except for the fact I exist. There are no data files, no memory files . . . _nothing_ to tell me about my past . . . about my family . . . about who I am and what I was designed to do." Heavy questions that made his core feel as if a great weight was pressing down, threatening to crush it. Why he referred to his creator and his other creations as 'family' he was unsure of. He did understand the dictionary term for both 'father' and 'creator' and he found, to an extent, the both to mean the same. Then, was Doctor Right, his creator . . . also his father?

"That we'll find out in time," Doctor Cain said, "I'll run a few tests on you once we get back to the lab."

X nodded and looked back up, staying silent. He had so many questions but now was not the time.

"Do you think you can stand?" Doctor Cain asked.

X hesitated before swinging his legs over the edge of the capsule and standing, forced to grip the side, leaving slight dents in it as he locked his leg joints.

"Don't worry," Doctor Cain said, "this is the first time you've been active. It's only natural that you need to adjust to movement and everything going on around you."

X nodded, only unlocking his joints when he felt it was safe to do so. He cautiously took a step, rewarded when his stabilizers held. He took another step, slowly making his way toward Doctor Cain.

His gaze was on Doctor Cain as he walked, wondering why the human was grinning like he was. There was something in his gaze that left a warm feeling in X's core, something that confused him. He quickly initiated a scan to see if his core was over heating. When he found nothing wrong he slightly furrowed a brow.

"Something wrong?" Doctor Cain asked.

"I am uncertain," X said softly, "I felt a warmth in my core and I thought it was an internal malfunction. However, a scan indicated nothing wrong."

"What were you thinking when you felt that?" Doctor Cain asked.

X hesitated. "Nothing. I was simply looking at you for a direction in which to walk in. I was curious as to why you had been grinning and suddenly I felt that warmth."

"You were built with human emotions," Doctor Cain said, "and I think I'm beginning to understand now. Doctor Right built you like a blank slate. He gave you just enough memory to interact, but he never explained it all so you'd learn and grow like a human. In other words, X, you're just finding out what feelings are, something humans are born with."

"Feelings?" X asked as he stopped in front of Doctor Cain, "robots do not have feelings."

"But you're no mere robot, are you?" Doctor Cain asked with a soft chuckle, "you are the next generation of robot, one who is as human as he can get without being flesh and blood."

"I am . . . confused," X said, looking down. It was strange to feel this way, if that was what it truly was.

"I'll help you to sort this all out and learn more about what makes you tick when we get back to the lab," Doctor Cain said.

X looked back up. "You would do that . . . ?"

Doctor Cain nodded, the grin still there. "I would."

Very faintly, very slowly, X found himself copying that grin, though he didn't understand it completely. "Thank you."

"Not a problem, my boy, now, let's get you back to camp and situated there," Doctor Cain said, "we'll come back in the morning when the lighting's better and do some more scrounging. Maybe find a few more notes on your past?"

"Lighting is not a problem," X said, "I can see perfectly fine under these conditions."

"Well, you maybe, but you have to remember something. Human's can't see in the dusk without aids and we've been gone long enough the batteries are going to need replacing," Doctor Cain said, "besides, I'm bushed."

"You . . . you are a shrub?" X asked before he could stop himself.

Doctor Cain laughed. "No, no. It's an expression that means tired."

X furrowed his brows, not understanding how something he had been programmed to mean a shrub could also mean tired.

"There's a lot of human idiosyncrasies you need to learn about," Doctor Cain said, "and I'll make sure you learn them well."

"I am programmed to absorb and store away any information given to me," X said, this time grinning with a bit more ease, "and I am designed to adapt as well." Of that much, he was certain.

Doctor Cain chuckled. "And there's a lot of information you are going to need to know. But not now, like I said, later."

X hesitated a moment then followed Doctor Cain as he made his way slowly back over the rubble, the other humans following behind. He did glance around, capturing everything he saw to memory, knowing later he could sort the images out and make a better, three-dimensional layout of the structure and what it must have looked like before its near destruction.

"I'll bring you back here tomorrow," Doctor Cain said, "since you were obviously created here, this technically, what's left of it anyway, is your home."

"I need no home," X said with a slight tilt of his head to the side, "a robot needs no shelter."

"Home and shelter are two different things," Doctor Cain said, "a shelter is a place that provides protection, home is much more. Home is where your family is, where your roots are. Home is that warm feeling you get knowing there is someone who cares for you."

X paused. "But who would care for a robot?"

"Obviously Doctor Right did or he wouldn't have built you," Doctor Cain said.

"What if he only built me to prove a theory?"

"Possibly," Doctor Cain said, "but unlikely. If he did then why would he create something that would not be active until after his death? Yes, I know he might do something like that just because it could be done . . . but from what little records we do have on him . . . that doesn't seem his style."

X fell silent as they walked. He stopped when the humans did. He watched as they connected some kind of ropes to themselves. He looked up to the opening high above.

"I never thought about that," Doctor Cain said, "how are we going to get you out of here. These ropes'll never hold you. We're going to have to get the boys to send down the cable and haul you up."

X only nodded as he watched the humans scale up the ropes until they eventually disappeared over the edge. His internal clock ticked off the minutes until he heard a loud rumbling that grew closer. He looked up as he saw something long and dark swing over the edge and a long, thin thing slowly fall down. Once it was before him he looked up.

"Hold onto that and we'll haul you up," Doctor Cain shouted, though the words were too faint for a human to hear, X's sensitive receptors picked the sounds up clearly.

He did as told, taking a firm hold of the cable, slipping a foot through the large loop at the end. He heard the rumbling sound again then the cable lurched and X found himself being raised up from the absolute darkness below to the dim darkness above.

Letting go of the cable and removing his foot, X looked upwards. High in the ink black sky, he could see small pinpricks of light that seemed to flicker and dance. He blinked, trying to figure out what they were exactly, what they were made of and why he felt a warmth in his core again at seeing them.

"The stars are always beautiful, especially during these cold times," Doctor Cain said.

X looked down, noting the fogging of the human's breath and even his own as his systems dumped excess air out of his frame. Even his 'skin' had registered the drop in temperatures from the cool of the rooms below to the cold of the air above. He also noted the white that covered the land, that crunched loudly under the boots of the humans and even his own large, metal feet.

"That's snow," Doctor Cain said, "and yes, to us it's cold. But inside the camp it'll be warmer."

X nodded and followed in silence. However, he stopped after a while and reached out, barely touching a thin branch laden in snow. He watched the fine fall of white as the snow fell from the branch. Some of the snow had stuck to his fingers and he brought his hand close, analyzing the snow. He could see in detail each crystalline facet of the flakes, each and every glimmer and shape, the crystals starting to dissolve from the warmth of his artificial skin, heated by the energy that ran through his 'veins.'

Slowly he looked up as the other humans passed him by. He blinked again then followed them, never once ceasing as he took in every bit of his surroundings.

He stopped only when the others did and waited for them to enter the structure. He noted that Doctor Cain had remained outside, holding the door open.

"Go right in, my boy," Doctor Cain said, "quarters might be a bit snug, but there should be plenty of room for you too."

X nodded and moved closer. "I do have to question one thing," he said, a slight hesitation in his voice, "why do you keep referring to me as 'my boy?' I am not a boy, but a robot."

"It's an expression," Doctor Cain said, "it's not meant to be taken literally."

X only nodded again. He still did not understand, any of this for that matter, but he believed he could trust Doctor Cain not to lie to him.

"Go on and hurry in," Doctor Cain said with a chuckle, bringing his hands up and rubbing them together, "it is getting cold out here."

"I had detected a three degree decrease in external temperatures from the time we exited the ruins until we arrived here," X said though he entered as instructed.

"So, you can detect temperature changes just by . . . visual? Through your external skeleton?" Doctor Cain asked as he closed the door behind them.

"I have sensors in both my optics and in my shell that can detect heat signatures and the actual temperature around me," X said as if it was a common matter of fact.

"Impressive," Doctor Cain said, "anything else you can readily detect?"

X nodded, not moving from where he stood though he did shift enough to keep Doctor Cain in view. "When the capsule was first opened I could detect the shift in the molecular structure of the air. I had already analyzed it and determined its suitability for use before you had spoken."

"Impressive indeed," Doctor Cain said, "this could help all of mankind. If I could replicate your abilities . . . this might be able to save lives."

"How so?" X asked.

"Your ability to scan air quality could help the miners even more than what we have now," Doctor Cain said, "but, better yet . . . if we had robots doing those jobs that are hazardous to humans . . . we could save even more lives."

"Do you not have robots now?" X asked, moving only when Doctor Cain walked into another room.

Doctor Cain shook his head as he sat at a small table, lifting a long, thin black lid, fingers typing away at something. "For as long as I have been alive there have been no robots. There were rumors when I was a kid that there were robots like you, but more primitive. No one believed it, though. I mean, we do have a fair amount of technology, but nothing like what they claimed existed. But, there were a few individuals who remembered hearing about what they called the Robot Wars."

Unsure what to do, X simply stood there and nodded.

"I'd ask you to have a seat," Doctor Cain said, "but I'm afraid you might break the furniture."

"That is quite understandable," X said, "and I need no rest. Only a periodic recharge."

"That is going to be a problem until I can analyze your power source," Doctor Cain said.

"What if you are unable to?" X asked, feeling something new ripple through his core, leaving behind a cold and unsettling feeling.

Doctor Cain chuckled softly, a complete contrast to the gravity of the situation. "It shouldn't be too hard," he said, "your old capsule should be good enough for transport back to my lab." A slight hesitation. "That's what I'm doing now is getting in contact with my lab, to let them know about you and that I'll need some heavy air equipment brought in."

X moved closer and looked over Doctor Cain's shoulder, watching as the elderly gentleman worked on what had to be a miniature computer. He watched as file after file was brought up, connections made and suddenly a face appeared.

"_Doctor Cai . . . what is that_?" the obviously startled young man on the other end of the connection said.

"This is X," Doctor Cain said, "I found him in a capsule in those ruins."

"_Say what_?" the young man asked, a slight furrow to his brows.

"I'm sending a brief transcript of what's been going on," Doctor Cain said, "oh, and X, this is Cedric, one of my top assistants."

X blinked once, searching through his files for the proper response. "A pleasure to meet you," he finally said.

"_Likewise_," Cedric said, but X could tell by the tone of his voice that something was wrong. However, he couldn't confirm it since something prevented him from analyzing the heat signature from the young man.

"Let me know when the transfer is complete," Doctor Cain said, "have the boys analyze that and send me a report back. We're going in tomorrow at first light to do more scrounging around. But, I am going to need some heavy air lift equipment. X will need to recharge and right now all we have is the capsule he was found in."

"_That's going to take some time_," Cedric said, "_most of our equipment is under repairs or on other jobs . . . _"

"If the other companies give you any problems, tell them that I've found Right's last robot," Doctor Cain said, "that should get them to sit up and take notice."

X was silent, trying to follow the conversation, trying to put together pieces of a puzzle he had no idea what it looked like.

"_Then that thing is . . . _?" Cedric asked, voice rising just slightly in tone.

"X is no 'thing,'" Doctor Cain said, "he has feelings like we do. And yes, X is Right's last robot. We have proof they did once exist."

"_So much for fairy tales,_" Cedric said with a soft sigh, "_ok, this might change their minds, but I don't expect them to move for a few days, if that. Let's just hope no one thinks this thing is going to be a threat and a danger . . . then they might send the army in . . . _"

"Just keep me informed," Doctor Cain said, "I need to shut down for the night. If someone does cry foul, then at least just try to stall them as much as you can. And if you think it's not going to work. Try some of the other private companies. I know a few that still owe us a favor for bailing them out."

"_Yes, sir_," Cedric said, "_and good hunting_."

Doctor Cain only nodded and, after a bit more typing, flipped a switch and the machine went dark. He turned and sighed, scrubbing at his eyes. "Time for an old man to get some rest," he said, "just find any spot you need to rest . . . stand . . . whatever you want to do to pass the time."

"Why would they think I am a threat?" X asked, his gaze still on the computer, "I have harmed no one. The codes built into me prevent me from harming anyone or anything."

"You are something they have never seen before," Doctor Cain said, "you are unique, one of a kind. And you have a power behind you that you probably can't begin to imagine. Something we need to find out, just how powerful you are."

"And we shall do that once we get back to your lab?" X asked.

"That we will," Doctor Cain said, "now, if you'll excuse me . . . "

"I wish to go back outside," X said, his voice soft as he finally tore his gaze away from the computer.

"Ok, just don't stray too far. I have no doubt you wouldn't get lost out there but I don't want to take any chances."

X nodded and turned, walking back out the door, fumbling a bit until he could figure out how to open the main door to the shelter. He closed it behind him and walked a few feet away from the structure. Trees covered most of his vision but he still tilted his head back, looking at the stars, wondering why he felt so drawn toward them, wondering why he felt as he did.

He felt air pressure building in his chest unit and he let it out in a small, explosive breath, feeling some better. He was curious as to why this was and he tried to run a scan, receiving nothing back for useable data.

His audio receivers picked up sounds all around, strange sounds he could not put a name to. He was curious as to what made these sounds, but he knew better than to go look. He had promised Doctor Cain he would not stray far away. He felt a kind of . . . how should he phrase it . . . attachment to the human? An alliance that was mutually forged? He did need to rely on Doctor Cain for his survival. He knew nothing of this world. Knew nothing of its morays or construction. To him the whole world was new, ready to shape him into whatever he was to become.

"Father . . . why?" X asked softly, his gaze still up and towards the heavens, "why did you build me then abandon me? What am I supposed to do?"

He never expected a response, nor did he get one.

With another soft expulsion of breath he turned back toward the shelter. Doctor Cain said he would help X. He knew he could trust the human. He _had _to trust him. So then . . . if Doctor Cain wanted to 'care' for X while he learned about the world around him . . . did that, in effect, make the old human . . . his _father._? Or, more correctly, a surrogate father?

Not sure why, X felt a slight pulling of the corner of one lip as another warm feeling overcame his core. He closed his eyes before he smiled outright. Lowering his head he walked back to the shelter, but he stopped. Placing his back against the cold, metal frame he crossed his arms and leaned against it. The cold was not enough to bother his circuits, his internal temperature maintaining a constant level. He needed no exterior protection and he knew the shelter was just large enough for the humans within. And, his logic circuits argued, the other humans, especially the females, seemed frightened of him still, even though he had not once made a move against them. So, his rationale continued, by staying outside it wouldn't hurt anyone. He locked his joints and put himself into standby mode, on alert enough to rouse at the first sign of disturbance.

When the first rays of light hit him, X slowly brought his systems back online, running a diagnostic to see if anything had changed. Finding everything still at peak operating efficiency, he opened his eyes and blinked, feeling his optical shutters close slightly against the growing light around him. He shifted, watching as the frost cracked and fell off of his ice cold shell. He unlocked his joints, just as the door opened. X turned his head only to see who it was and he found himself smiling when he saw Doctor Cain.

"Thank the gods, X, there you are," Doctor Cain said, "when I woke and found you gone, I had feared the worst."

X felt his smile fading and he furrowed his brows. "I promised I would not go far," he said, "and I did not. You had no need to worry over my safety."

"Well, anyway, get inside, it's too cold out here," Doctor Cain said and before X could correct him he continued, waving a hand, "I know, I know, you don't need protection from the elements, but I do."

Silently X followed the elderly man inside, noting how one of the females, tall, thin and blonde, hurried back from his path. Two other females, both short, one with short dark hair and the other with longer red hair just sat and stared at him, their heat signatures reading a mixture of fear, awe and other emotions he was unsure of. The only other male, short and chubby had a scowl on his face, one hand stroking the edges of his short beard.

"You do realize," he said, "that once the government gets their hands on X, we'll never see him again."

"Alex, no need to worry," Doctor Cain said, "I'll make sure they don't lay one finger on him."

"We can't keep this a secret," the tall blonde said, "they'll find out eventually."

"I've called Cedric and let him know," Doctor Cain said, "and he's going to get some heavy equipment in to help with the removal of X's capsule without hopefully alerting the army. They'll find out, I know, but at least we should get back to the lab and be able to secure ourselves in before they come knocking . . ."

The red-headed female shook her head. "But if it doesn't work, we'll have the army swarming all over this place and no doubt they'll destroy everything. They're rude, arrogant and unknowledgeable about the fragility of a dig site."

"That's a chance we'll have to take," Doctor Cain said, "which is why, as soon as we've had breakfast, we're heading back in to see what we can get before the lift crew can get here."

"I wish to go too," X said, "I am curious."

"As you should be now," Doctor Cain said, "go ahead and get started, I'm going to contact Cedric again and see what's going on."

X followed Doctor Cain and stopped off to the side so he wouldn't be in the way. He watched in silence as the elderly human opened the computer again and established a connection.

"_Good news_," Cedric said, "_I've found a private company who's willing to work for the right money. They have what we're looking for_."

"Well, that's one less problem," Doctor Cain said, "how long before they can get here?"

"_Three days_," Cedric said, "_apparently they're on another dig and can't get free until then_."

Doctor Cain nodded. "Fine. That'll give us enough time to scour this place with a fine-toothed comb to see what other treasures lie here."

"_Ok_," Cedric said, "_I'll keep you posted in case they get free before then. I'll also let you know what else I hear for scuttlebutt around the channels_."

"Good," Doctor Cain said, "we're heading back in after breakfast. I'll sign out for now but keep the link open. I'll check once we get back and I'll send you what we find."

"_Acknowledged and good hunting_," Cedric said before the connection went dark.

Doctor Cain set about working on the computer and X kept his gaze locked onto what he was doing. Eventually he rose and left the room. X started to follow then stopped, not knowing why. A short time later Doctor Cain returned, passing X as if he didn't exist, sitting back in front of his computer and doing more work, eating something that steamed from some sort of container. And though curious, X didn't dare ask what it was.

When Doctor Cain was done he closed the computer down and rose, setting the container aside. He slipped his boots on then shrugged into his jacket. "Time to get going. I want to see what's down there."

X nodded and followed, feeling the other human's eyes on him, and it made him feel strange, as if he wanted to run away from them. He did his best to ignore them as the small party headed to the ruins and focus only on Doctor Cain, almost becoming his shadow he stayed so close.

The walk back to the lab ruins was in silence and the air hung around X, thick, stifling, almost as if his coolant system and oxygen intake processes couldn't handle the strain of walking.

"Split up," Doctor Cain said, "keep in constant radio contact and let everyone know if you find anything, X," he said before pausing, "you're coming with me."

"As you wish," X said, glad that he didn't have to go with one of the others.

Doctor Cain nodded and led X back the way the robot remembered they had come the evening before. Each and every piece of rubble, every scar and mark had been committed to his memory files.

"Now that I get a better look at this," Doctor Cain said, "it almost looks like a battle took place here."

X stopped by one long scar, metal melted in one jagged arc. He ran a hand over the mark as if the mere touch could bring to him answers of what had happened here.

"Maybe we can find more answers," Doctor Cain said, "maybe Right left some notes, or something else survived whatever happened here."

X nodded and slowly removed his hand, looking at his fingers, a slight furrow to his brows. He then looked around, his optics picking up what he knew no human eye could. Fine details of the metal, faint denting in the structure, other 'claw' marks, or so he had to label them since he was unsure what else to call them.

Without realizing it, X began to wander, his mind pre occupied with taking in the ruins. He felt a coldness come into his core and he shivered without knowing why. He stopped by a partly broken door and scanned it, judging the stability of removing the rest of the door. With ease he pulled it off of its rusted hinges and looked around, his infrared picking up glints of metal shards.

He stepped in and picked one up, analyzing it. It was nothing he had seen or could pull up. It looked curved, smooth if scarred from some force, it had once been black with gold, but most of the paint had been chipped off. He looked around, finding more fragments, some a shade of red, others a lighter blue than his own shell had been colored. He even found what he figured was part of a robot's arm, almost completely crushed and snapped off by some strong force at the elbow joint.

"The more I look at this," Doctor Cain said, "the more I think this place was attacked."

"I have found some parts," X said, raising his voice some to adjust for the distance he could tell he was from Doctor Cain, "that look as if they had been subjected to some violent force."

He listened as footsteps grew nearer and he looked up when he heard them almost behind him. He handed the 'arm' over to Doctor Cain and watched as he inspected the piece.

"Definitely a battle had to have happened here. But why? How? And who would do it. Damn, but we need more information from that time." Doctor Cain let out a soft, expulsive breath, similar to what X had done the previous night.

"Why are there no records?" X asked as he tilted his head slightly to the side, his gaze locked onto Doctor Cain.

"Time has a way of forgetting things," Doctor Cain said, "even the great things. We have names, very few facts . . . but most of the information was lost in a great upheaval of forces beyond our control. Not only did humans begin to war against humans but also nature herself decided to lend a hand in changing the world as we knew it. Of course, this all happened long before I was born. Some say it was the various gods punishing us, others say it was our own fault. I remember stories when I was a kid of how it was all the robots fault, that their creation was what led to that upheaval."

X only blinked at that, storing the information away into certain folders so he could organize it better later.

"I heard stories that the robots went wild and had one major war," Doctor Cain said, "this was supposedly after Doctor Right had died. Something about all of their creations fighting in a sort of war to end all wars, and how it decimated the lands. Who won, no one knows. But, I suppose, that no one was the winner. They lost their lives and we lost our past. But . . . with you . . . we might be able to forge a new, co-operative future!"

"Are you sure that they will accept me?" X asked finally, a question that had weighed on his core long enough, "the other humans . . . they fear me . . . I can see it . . . "

"You are new, something they never dreamed was possible," Doctor Cain said, "I had always wondered and hoped I'd find some clues, that's why I turned to Paleontology from my work back at the lab tinkering with very primitive, or at least primitive to what you are, robotics. I figured if I started at the beginning and worked my way up to the present, I might find some clues to the world as we know it."

Giving a nod, X looked around a bit more. The room was smallish but still large enough that four robots his size could have fit with a bit of room to spare. Though, judging by the size of the arm unit, this robot wasn't too much smaller than he was. There was enough color on it to let him know it belonged to whoever had the black paint job.

"I'm going to check out another room I found. Hopefully the rest of the lab is like your room was on those levels, mostly intact."

X nodded again and followed Doctor Cain out of the room. "If it is acceptable to you," X said once they had exited the room, "I wish to return to where my capsule is."

"Do you remember the way?" Doctor Cain asked.

"The exact pathway there has been recorded to my memory banks," X said, "there is no chance I will forget or get lost."

Doctor Cain chuckled and X wondered what was so funny. "I should have realized that," the older human said, "go ahead, I'll join you once I'm done scouring here."

X nodded and turned, traversing the path back to where he had been found. He didn't stop to look around, not this time, bypassing all the other rooms. When he arrived to the door he paused, one hand resting on the doorframe. Slowly he walked in, his gaze fixed onto the capsule, faint lines of stress fracture, dents and scar marks along the outer dark blue shell that only his sensitive optics could detect. He walked over and carefully ran a hand along the surface of it. He stopped when his optics picked up an image, a reflection of himself in a section of the lid that was free, mostly, of marks.

Slowly he brought a hand to his face as he blinked. Was that really him? Was that really the way he looked. Emerald colored orbs stared back at him in confusion, wonderment and a host of other emotions he either couldn't identify or passed off as minor. He blinked again as he slowly trailed two fingers down one cheek, his other fingers following along the contour of his helmet. Two toned blue with a red crystal in front. Only then did he tear his gaze away and look, for the first true time, at the rest of his body's construction, the same two-toned sapphire armor over a lighter blue 'body suit'.

"Why did you build me to look like this?" X asked softly, "and why am I so confused?"

He blinked again before looking around, carefully taking in every inch, every nook and cranny of the room. He shifted a beam that had fallen, the sound piercing and grating as it shifted along the stone. Beneath he found something, scraps of what he analyzed as paper. He picked it up and looked at it, turning it this way and that. He had been programmed with basic language and reading skills, but no more. The words on the paper, he could only barely read. But one thing, that was clear to him, that made his core skip a beat was a name scrawled on the bottom of the paper.

Thomas Right.

X clutched the papers carefully against his chest as he walked around some more. He found a terminal, one his initial scan the previous evening had recorded. He carefully brushed the debris from the console and ever so gently ran his fingers along the scarred surface. Could this machine hold his answers? Could it tell him what he needed to know about his past, about who and what he was? He knew he had to be more than a mere robot, but what else could there be? Why hadn't he been programmed with the knowledge?

He made a soft sound in the back of his throat mechanism and he paused, searching for a word to the feeling and action. It was almost the sound of a growl. But . . . why would he make such a noise?

X turned when he heard footsteps and he faintly smiled when he saw Doctor Cain, flashlight in hand. "Just as soon as I heard that sound I came running," he said, "are you ok?"

"I am operating at peak efficiency," X said, "but I discovered these under a beam." He held the papers out to Doctor Cain.

The elderly human took the papers and scanned them over, his eyes growing wide. "Sweet Mother," he exclaimed, "these are more personal notes from Right himself. Some more of his plans that went into you . . . by the looks of it. Too bad there's not enough here to put with the other notes I found to tell me exactly what he did to build you."

"Does it say anything as to why I was created?"

Doctor Cain looked up. "Didn't you read that for yourself?"

"I have only limited language capabilities," X said, "there were elements on the papers I could not translate."

"I see," Doctor Cain said softly, "well, from what I see here, there's only notes on your physical construction, nothing on why you were built."

X nodded and turned back to the console, his gaze down as his fingertips lightly stroked over the surface.

"We already tried that," Doctor Cain said, "there's no power to it and when we tried, we almost shorted it out. I had figured that, once we could see if we could revive you, if we could extract any chips to analyze later."

"What if you interfaced your computer to this one?" X asked.

"We don't have anything that's compatible and I don't dare do any hotwiring to it,"

"Hot . . . wiring?" X asked a slight furrow to one brow.

Doctor Cain chuckled. "Meaning splice wires to get it running without following proper start up procedures."

X nodded before returning to his capsule. "And did you have to 'hotwire' this as well?"

"Actually, no," Doctor Cain said, "I analyzed it and this is what I found."

X watched as Doctor Cain slid a panel back and began typing away at the keyboard near the capsule. He watched as a screen flickered to life, words springing forth. He read the screen, his core skipping again when he saw the letters.

_reading "R.X.S."  
reading "BD-E"  
reading "WARNING"_

"R . . . X . . . . S?" X asked, looking to Doctor Cain.

Doctor Cain nodded. "I hadn't checked that out yet, your capsule started to activate as the warning was being displayed. I didn't want to be distracted with information as you woke." Doctor Cain typed away then stopped. "This is it."

X's emerald gaze scanned the words and he whispered them aloud. "Rockman X specifications . . . . "

"So it would seem that is who you are," Doctor Cain said, "Rockman X."

X only nodded. "And this . . . this is how I was constructed?"

"I won't know how much survived of the records until I can transcribe them over into my laptop," he said, "but by the looks of it, this is for anyone who revived you to know, just in case something went wrong."

Glancing down to the capsule, X closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. "I want to learn," he said softly, "I want to grow in knowledge, in understanding . . . can you . . . _will _you teach me?"

When he felt a hand on his arm X looked over. He saw the soft smile on Doctor Cain's face. "Of course I will, my boy. I'll make sure you get everything you need."

X dipped his head slightly. "Thank you," he said, smiling softly himself.

"I'll also help teach you about these emotions you have, how to understand them, how to cultivate them. What this all means for you, as both a robot and a link to humanity."

X's smile grew wider. "I would like that very much," he said.

"Now, let's see what else is down here," Doctor Cain said, "I know you can probably absorb this information faster than I could ever write it down. And even if you don't understand it, I can analyze the information later. I hope you don't mind being used as an over glorified computer right now."

"Why should I mind?" X asked as he memorized all of what the computer spit out for information, a small section of his mental processes focused on Doctor Cain, "after all, should a robot not serve its human creators?"

"Maybe in the past when robots were mere machines with limited intelligence," Doctor Cain said, "but you are more than a mere robot. You are something greater. You are almost human. It's hard to see you, built to look like someone in their late teens, early twenties with the inquisitiveness of a child."

"Am I operating outside of normal parameters then?" X asked softly, a slight frown curving his lips downward.

"No, no, my boy, you're not. From what I can tell you're behaving exactly as Doctor Right wanted you to."

X nodded, the soft smile returning.

"You keep at that and let me know when it's done," Doctor Cain said, "I'm going to have a look see at the rest of the room."

"Understood," X said, storing all of the information away in one huge file. He knew on the way back to the camp he could organize the information better. A small part of his core did hope that he would find something on why he was created, but he didn't let that hope get too high knowing the probability of it would be slim to none.

His gaze remained locked on the screen as his fingers flew over they keypad, missing no files, no folders, no information the computer had to offer, not wanting to risk losing any piece of his past.


	3. Playing God

Disclaimer - I don't own them, just doing this because it was a slow, snowy day at work (and the original draft filled one sheet of paper and both free areas of a stock list O.o) Though this revision happened during the fall of '04 and will expand this fic quite a bit.

This is set WAY before X1 and is my version of how things came to be. This is going to be done as accurately as possible using information from all of the X games. Of course, there will be some liberties taken, especially if the information isn't readily available, but it will be an attempt to follow a logical path as to how events in the X series came to be. I would like to thank tikimother for beta'ing this for me.

Read and enjoy!

**Timescape Saga**

**Of Irregulars and Hunters**

**Book One  
Genesis**

**Chapter Two  
Playing God**

**(C) 10 - 31 - 2004 to 09 - 17 - 2005 All Rights Reserved  
By Goldenmane**

"I was afraid something like this was going to happen," Doctor Cain mumbled as he followed the two heavily armed guards into the special room set up for the hearing, "someone leaked information about you."

X said nothing as he followed behind. They hadn't even been back to Doctor Cain's lab for three days when a call had been sent from the head of the military that the President was worried over the elderly doctor's find. Namely, they worried that X was a threat.

"I'll get this straightened out," Doctor Cain said as he turned to X, "so don't you worry, my boy."

"I trust you," X said, "so far you have not lied to me."

"And I don't plan on starting any time soon," Doctor Cain said as they entered the room and took their seats.

X noted the humans that lined seats behind where the table was they sat at, all behind an almost clear, and somewhat muffling, substance that seemed to be solid. He blinked once when three guards came over, two training their weapons directly on X, the third taking some heavy chains and binding his legs together as well as his lower arms in front of him. He turned to look at Doctor Cain who seemed livid about that.

"He's not a monster," Doctor Cain seemed to growl out, "so why are you treating him as one?"

"He is a threat to national security," one guard said, the one who had bound X, "and we can't have him attacking the humans without some attempt at preventing it."

Doctor Cain only sighed and shook his head as the guards moved away to take their positions.

X sat with his hands clasped together, resting on the table before him. Initial scans registered he could have snapped the chains easily enough, but the fact that they might hurt Doctor Cain if they thought he might be a threat kept him very docile. Every so often he looked around the room as best as he could without actually moving his head or body. He could almost literally see the fear from those assembled, hatred blending in, making X uncomfortable. The room was lined with armed guards, weapons trained on X, making him even more nervous than he already was.

Doctor Cain looked like he was ready to either kill or cry, it was hard for X to actually figure out what emotions were going on inside of the elderly Doctor.

"Who are those people?" X asked as his gaze scanned the two elderly humans behind the same substance those behind him were, "and what is that stuff before them?"

"That's bullet-proof plating," Doctor Cain said, "though I don't think it'd stop you from breaking through it. Your strength, what I've seen so far, is far past any protection we know to exist."

"But who are they? Are they important?" X asked. Even if he was nervous he had so many questions he wanted to ask the doctor.

Doctor Cain pointed to one person. "He is the Minister of Defense. He is in his full dress uniform which is why it looks so fancy and you can see all of his awards he's won for service."

"So he is a fighter?" X asked.

Doctor Cain nodded.

"Does he plan to fight me?" X asked, voice going a bit soft, afraid someone would hear him.

"No, no, my boy," Doctor Cain said with a soft chuckle despite the situation, "he's given up fighting for giving the orders."

"I see," X said, "and who is he?"

"He's the President of our country," Doctor Cain said, "I assume he's here and not the head of Congress because of where you are such a unique case."

"I know that term," X said, "it means he is in charge of your entire population."

"Right," Doctor Cain said, "so you know how important it is that nothing happens to him."

X nodded. "He is to be protected at all costs," he said, "that is the way it should be."

Doctor Cain smiled and nodded.

X shifted his attention back to the two people a good distance away from them, the two who were there to decide his fate.

"Members of the committee, I wish to bring this meeting into order," the President said as his gaze scanned the room.

The humans behind X and Doctor Cain fell silent with only a few whispers that X picked out clearly but chose to ignore.

"We are here to decide the fate of the robot known as 'X'," the elderly man said, "the only witness we have for this is Doctor Cain, a celebrated and noteworthy anthropologist, a Bachelor graduate of the University of New London and a Masters degree in the field of anthropology, most notably the Mesozoic era. Doctor Cain has also been known to tinker with robotics, is that correct?" the President asked.

"It is," Doctor Cain simply said with a curt nod.

"Now, Doctor Cain," the elderly man said, "it is my understanding that on the Thirteenth of April of this year you discovered a capsule that had been buried for over a hundred years in the remains of a robotics lab owned by one Doctor Thomas Right, am I correct?"

"You are, Mister President," Doctor Cain said.

The President nodded. "And is it correct that the next day, after reading the warnings on the capsule, you released this creature known only as 'X' into the world?"

"I did," Doctor Cain said simply.

"And what made you release something that had been classified a danger without the proper military back up?" the President asked.

"I did so because it said it would take thirty years to confirm X was not a threat and that deadline had long since passed," Doctor Cain said, "the readouts on the capsule read green, that X had passed all of the tests and was safe to be released."

"But what if the readout had been faulty and this creature had been a danger instead?" another elderly man asked, the one Doctor Cain had said was the head of their military.

"Then he would have killed us," Doctor Cain said simply, "which he did not. X is a peaceful robot, not a violent one."

"But our reports say, and the schematics you have given us from Doctor Right's notes correlate this, that he has a built in weapon that you are only just learning about," the Minister of Defense said, "that right there classifies this thing as a threat to world safety."

"I must beg the forgiveness of the head of our armed forces," Doctor Cain said, "but the General is wrong to assume that any weapon automatically classifies anything as a threat. Humans have built in weapons and we are not classified as threats. Most animals have built in weapons, but, likewise, they are not deemed a threat to national or world security."

"But they are natural," the General said, "this thing isn't."

"X is no 'thing', General," Doctor Cain said, "X is an advanced robot that is capable of thinking and acting like a human."

That brought more hushed murmurs behind X and he shifted a bit in his seat.

"If that is the case, then maybe X should speak for himself, then," the President said.

X hesitated for a split second. "You may ask me what you wish," he said, words clear, his voice soft, "but if it is beyond my vocabulary then I may not be able to answer it."

"So you're saying you were not fully built?" the General asked.

"I was built in a way so I would learn, as any human child would, and 'grow' mentally by the stimulus around me rather than by a pre-programmed set of rules," X said.

"So your programming is incomplete," the President said.

"You could say that," X said, "I am designed to learn from my surroundings rather than having a complete understanding of it."

The General nodded. "And who is going to teach you about this world?"

"Doctor Cain has agreed to help me to learn and integrate myself with your culture and society," X said.

"And what if he teaches you wrong?" the General asked, "what's to stop you from becoming a danger to society?"

"I have programs built in that prevent me from harming anyone," X said, "that is the only set of data I had when I woke. The program was labeled 'Moral Codes'. It tells me what is right from what is wrong. I understand these codes and I choose to follow them rather than ignore them. It's not, how would you say it, in my nature to harm another."

"Who ever heard of a peaceful robot being built with weapons?" the President asked incredulously.

"That is for Doctor Right to know," X said.

"But he's been dead for almost a century," the President said, "all we have is you for proof of his creations."

"I am truly sorry," X said, "but I cannot explain it any further. I know what my programming tells me and what Doctor Cain has taken for his own scans. Past that, I do not know."

"From what we have seen of the notes that Doctor Cain has released to us," the General said, "it is in our best interest to quarantine this thing until it can be dissected and tested."

"If you take me apart," X said, voice quiet yet strong, "it will kill me."

"You cannot kill something that is not alive," the General said, "and you are not alive."

"I am," X said simply, "I function, therefore I live. I have a core that beats like a human heart would. I have fluids that circulate in tubes under the surface of my artificial skin as would the human blood stream. I have thoughts and hopes and wishes like any other sentient person would . . . Does that not make me alive?"

That brought more than just hushed murmurs from the humans behind them. Even the General and President seemed speechless.

"From what I understand," X said, voice rising just enough to be heard over the cacophony of voices around him, "even the animals are considered alive because they exist."

"But a computer is not alive, it is a machine, a tool," the General said as he tried to regain his composure, "and all you are is a very advanced computer."

"But a computer cannot dream," X said, "I can."

"Rubbish," the General said, "machines can't dream. All you must be doing is recycling data."

"I cannot recycle data that I do not have," X said, "when I wake, the feeling is real, as if I have been there, but I have no records, no data, nothing on what I have dreamed."

The President hesitated. "Tell me one of these dreams," he said, "assuming they are safe for humans to hear."

"I have dreamed of a world where there are more like me, existing alongside humans in a utopian society," X said, "I have dreamed where robots like me have taken positions that would be hazardous to humans, thus eliminating many unneeded deaths."

"And where did you get that idea?" the President asked.

"I've mentioned from time to time about how useful robots would be in working in such fields as excavation, mining and building work," Doctor Cain said.

"Can you show us one of these dreams?" the President asked.

X shook his head. "I remember the dreams . . . but the data is not there . . . "

"Then you could be lying," the General said.

"I assure you," X said, "I am not lying."

"That is left to be seen," the General said, "and until we run a battery of tests, I won't be convinced that you are not a danger to the human race."

X looked down, a feeling rippling through his core that made him shiver.

"We are not a people of violence," the President said, "but we do have to make sure that our people are safe and secure. We do need to ascertain whether or not X is going to be a threat to us and just what he has for weapons or other abilities even he might not know about. And to do that we do need to run a full battery of tests . . . But we will do it in a logical and productive manner that will keep both X safe as well as ourselves. The last thing I would want on my conscious is to discover that we have killed a representative of what might become a new race on this planet."

X heard the sigh of relief from Doctor Cain and he looked over. He would have reached over and placed a hand on the doctor's arm if he had the freedom to do so.

"X will be taken to a special holding cell at our research base in New Mexico at White Sands," the President said, "Doctor Cain will be allowed periodic visits with X while we conduct our tests."

"Mister President," Doctor Cain said, "I must disagree with you. If you must take X to White Sands, I won't object. But to bar me from seeing him except when it's convenient for you is another thing. I was the first person X saw. I have been fundamental in his learning to date. To prevent him from having contact with me would be the equivalent of taking a child away from their parent for no reason. It is wrong and will only hurt X in the end. Plus, I have studied all of Doctor Rights notes and schematics on X. Why do we need to dissect him like a lab rat when I have the plans right here?"

"If you will release all of the schematics and notes you have discovered to date to us, then we will use them as a basis for our research," the President said, "I think it is safe to say, as long as you allow us to run our own tests, especially on the unit called a 'buster' at White Sands, that we will allow you a license to own X and, if X proves to be of the value you think he and others like him could be, then we might grant you a license to start production of these robots."

"That is acceptable," Doctor Cain said, "now, if you wouldn't mind taking those blasted chains off of my boy, we can get going. I'll have Cedric send the data over to you as soon as I can contact him."

Two guards moved over and unchained X before stepping back. One other still had his weapon trained on X.

"Thank you," X said as he rose.

"If what Doctor Cain proposes can become a reality, then I will welcome you and your kind as helpers of mankind," the President said.

X nodded and followed the guards and Doctor Cain out of the building and to a charter jet to take them to White Sands.

X had long since closed his eyes as he floated in the void. They had called it a sensory deprivation tank. They had said he would be in it only a few hours. However, they had lied to him. His internal clock registered it had been nearly a week with no contact, no reference point of up or down to see or feel. Yet it didn't phase him in the least. He had marked the location of the tank and made an internal map of it when he had entered it, before things had become dark, before the gravity had been nullified. Before he found himself floating in the void.

He had soon grown bored of the tank and had set about running scans or replaying past videos, his experiences in life, what a human would call memories. He ran over and over the tests they had performed, both with his pain centers online and offline, had replayed what they had said when they thought he couldn't hear. If there was one thing this had taught him . . . not all humans were as kind and truthful as Doctor Cain was.

When they had finally turned the gravity back on and he felt himself floating downward, he uncurled from the fetal position he had adopted, stretching his unused joints. A few creaked in protest from his lack of movement but a diagnostic read no problems that wouldn't correct themselves.

X was standing and facing the doorway when light pierced the darkness and the way to freedom was open. His steps were a bit unsure as he stepped into the light. Not from disorientation but from disuse and low energy. Not once had they offered to recharge X's internal power cells and his recharge chamber was hundreds of miles away in Doctor Cain's lab.

"I have to admit," one of the scientists said, "we didn't think you'd last that long in there."

"I had expected the test to have ended days ago," X simply said as he was shackled again around his arms, "not seven days, thirteen hours, twenty-five minutes and thirty-five seconds later."

"How . . . how did you know?" another scientist asked.

"I have an internal chronometer," X said, "I counted the time from when the door closed to when it opened again."

"How come we didn't find that when we last opened you up?" the first scientist said.

"Because it is built into my core," X said, "all you had to do was ask and I would have told you."

"Like I'd ask some over glorified computer," the scientist said with a soft snort, "now, on to the next test."

"As you wish," X said, willingly allowing the guard shove a rifle into his back to get him to move. He complied, following the scientists, technicians and guards into another room. When he saw Doctor Cain a huge smile broke out on X's face and he left the group to greet the elderly doctor. "I've missed you," X said, having grown fond of his founder and mentor.

"I've missed you too, my boy," Doctor Cain said hugging X where the robot couldn't, "when they put you in the tank I left to see about getting a license, much as I hate to use that word, to 'own' you. I hope you haven't been too bored with their tests while I've been gone."

"They only let me out of the tank two minutes, fifteen seconds ago," X said, stepping back just as a guard reached out to haul X away from Doctor Cain, not wanting the elderly doctor to get hurt accidentally, "I have been in it since the time you left."

"What?" Doctor Cain exclaimed, "barbarians are more civilized than the military is."

"You may have been allowed access to this creature," one of the lab technicians said, "but you hold no authority over what we do with it."

"How many times do I have to tell you thick-headed numbskulls that X is not a 'thing', he is a living and thinking being," Doctor Cain fumed.

"Please," X said, voice soft as brought both hands up to rest on Doctor Cain's shoulder in imitation of what the elderly doctor had done to him many times before when he had been troubled, "it will be all right."

Doctor Cain didn't seem too sure but he nodded, the dark look on his face still.

X willingly allowed the soldiers to force him down onto the table even though he gave them no resistance. He willingly allowed them to chain him down like a wild animal, still giving no resistance. Whenever a soldier would point a weapon at him or would make a move that could be considered hostile, he still made no move to do anything other than completely submitting himself to their will. However, he silently mused, if Doctor Cain hadn't been there things might have been different . . .

He froze at the dark thoughts. Since his awakening that was the first time he had ever considered harming a human. A slight ripple of fear passed through his core. Could he, one of peace, be willing to take the life of another? He knew what he had in the files listed as 'Moral Codes'. Three simple instructions that dated back to an antiquarian age when the concept of robots with free wills were unheard of. Three old laws that had been written ages before. 'A robot must never harm a human. A robot must never allow harm to come to another. The only exception to that rule being if the robot itself would come under harm', this being the overriding rule.

However, all musings ended as X let out a scream of pain, trying to curl into the source of it on instinct.

"Stop it," X barely heard Doctor Cain say, "you're killing him."

"We know how he was built, more or less," the tech said, "but we need to know his physical tolerance level. We need to know his strengths and weaknesses."

"How would you like it if someone stuck a knife in you without giving you anything for the pain?" Doctor Cain asked, anger in his voice.

"This is a machine," the tech said, "it is only programmed to mimic humans. It has no ability to form such ideas on its own."

"X is no mere machine," Doctor Cain said angrily, "X is a robot who can think and feel as a human does or haven't you read the notes I released of Doctor Right's? And would you get that knife out of X before you hurt his systems?"

X's body shivered once as he finally killed his pain center, his body soon relaxing. "You may proceed as long as you use caution," he said, "I have deactivated my pain centers."

"Remarkable," the tech said, "so you can't feel what I'm doing?"

"No," X said, "it seems to be a failsafe program in case I suffered damage so it would not affect my other tactile receptors."

"That would be a handy device in a soldier," the tech said, "it could take damage and not react to the pain, making it still a viable fighter until it took too much damage and ceased to function."

"Is that all you can think of?" Doctor Cain exclaimed, "how much use X would be as a warrior than as an ambassador of peace?"

"We need to view all options," the tech said, "even this things use in war."

Doctor Cain just shook his head as he looked down at X.

X looked back at Doctor Cain, not knowing what to say as they cut his arm open, the one that housed what the schematics and his own internal programs registered as a buster unit.

The tech was silent as he poked and prodded around X's arm, a frown on his face when apparently nothing happened. "The specs say you have a buster, whatever that is. Where is it?"

"It is housed in the arm you have opened up," X said simply, "if you replace the shell I can activate it safely."

The tech did, surprisingly, replace X's arm shell.

"Please release me from these bonds," X said, "and I will activate the buster unit."

"That I can't do," the tech said, "just show me what it looks like."

"Doctor Cain, please step back," X said.

He waited until Doctor Cain was far enough away before he easily tensed his cybernetic muscles, pressing against the chains and snapping them in several places. Now free, despite the fact that the guards had rushed in and trained their weapons on X, he held out his arm, pointing his hand away from any human in the room and he activated the command line, watching as his arm seemed to shift, reforming into a slightly larger version of his arm, an open muzzle to the buster where his hand had once been. "This," he said simply, "is the buster unit you wished to see. From here I can fire a plasma shot."

"Do a test fire," the tech said, "I want to see it in action."

X selected an area of wall devoid of any machines. "There are two commands I can give it," X said, "one is a low level shot, the other is a charged shot that is supposed to do more damage than a normal shot."

"Show me the low level shot," the tech said, "and if you hit anything or anyone important, the soldiers will shoot not only you but Doctor Cain as well."

X froze at that, nearly banishing his buster. The last thing he wanted was for them to harm his mentor.

"It's ok, X," Doctor Cain said, "just do as he says."

X nodded and fired a low level shot, leaving a gaping, smoldering hold where his shot had connected.

The soldiers jumped, weapons fixing ever closer to X.

The tech whistled. "I need to see just how strong that buster is and see how we can create materials to protect us from such power."

"I know only that the buster is powered by a separate source than the micro-fusion tank that allows my core to run," X said, "it is located in the buster unit."

"We'll need to study the specs again with a fine-toothed comb," the tech said, "for now we'll allow you to go back to your room. When we're ready to run more tests we'll call for you."

X nodded as he rose. "Will it be acceptable for Doctor Cain to stay with me?"

"As long as the brass don't mind and you don't try to break him out, I have no problem with it," the tech said.

"Thank you," X said, a faint smile on his face, despite what had been done to him or how dark at one point his thoughts had gotten.

"Now, maybe we can get somewhere on getting these idiots trained to realize you're more than just a mere machine but a new form of life," Doctor Cain said.

X said nothing as he stayed close to Doctor Cain as the soldiers led him back to his room, wondering just what good was going to come from all of this and whether or not the government would allow the elderly doctor the chance to try and recreate X as he had so dreamed of doing since the day they had met.

X knew he had been warned to stay away from the examination room, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. He knew Doctor Cain would be angry at him for disobeying, but he felt he would be forgiven. Or so he hoped. It had been almost nine weeks, after all, nine long weeks of what seemed like non-stop tests and studies to better figure out how he worked and just how Doctor Right had come up with the designs for X. They had also done extensive research on X's weapon, now given the official designation of the X-Buster Mark Seventeen, as per Doctor Right's notes, to see if it could be adapted to human weapons. Nine long weeks where scientists prodded and poked at him as Doctor Cain assisted the technicians in creating what would be the first robot replicated from X's systems. Now that Doctor Cain had been given a license to attempt to recreate a weaponless version of X to see if it would be of value to human civilization.

He stopped outside the room and looked down from the observation deck, making sure he was hidden from sight. He magnified the view and watched as Doctor Cain began the boot up sequence for his first 'copy' of X. His first attempt to re create what Doctor Right had perfected. It was merely a featureless shell, no details, no true outer structure. The face, even, lacked the artificial skin that X had. It was simply 'it', nothing more.

He couldn't hear what the humans were saying through the thick, double sided glass, but he didn't need to know. From his own experience booting up for the first time, he knew what would happen.

X watched as the power was switched on, the monitors recording everything. He watched as the lights turned green one by one, indicating one more process succeeding.

Then he saw the frame twitch, fingers clenching into fists. He saw the robot shift its head to the side, seeming to still for a moment. Then he heard it, the grating, piercing metallic scream, muted as it was, as the robot's body arched hard off the bed, lights on the monitors began blinking warning signals. The robot's body convulsed again and X unconsciously laid a hand against the glass as the robot fell still, all lights in the red now.

A failure.

The robot no longer functioned. How was it the humans would have termed it? The robot had died.

X turned away, the sound of the robot's scream still echoing, or so it seemed, in his audio receivers. He closed his eyes, trying to get the sounds to go away, the sight forever burned into his core. Was this what had happened to Doctor Right before he had perfected X? Did he lose many robots to experiments?

He didn't need to see where he was going, his radar was enough to let him know if any objects came into his path. He didn't stop until he reached his room. He opened his eyes then and walked over to his capsule and sat. He sighed softly as he looked down to the capsule. Not the one he had been found in, that one was in storage until it could be placed on permanent display. This was one that Doctor Cain had created based on X's old capsule. But it functioned the same way.

But . . . if Doctor Cain could have recreated the capsule, why then did he fail to create another robot? Was his systems that complex? He knew what he had recorded almost five months prior when Doctor Cain had him read what was listed under the "Rockman X specifications" folder.

Slowly X rose and walked to the window, his gaze scanning the barren wasteland that had been his home since they had taken him here, to White Sands.

Doctor Cain had been instrumental in helping him to understand his feelings, to be able to label them accurately now. But he still couldn't answer those deep questions X had. No records had been found, no notes, nothing on why Doctor Right had built him, what he was thinking, why he would even tackle such a thing.

When he heard the door open he turned and looked. He smiled, though faintly, a touch sadly as he watched Doctor Cain's personal assistant enter.

"X, something wrong? You seem sad," she said, "is it because you're still here even though they've allowed Doctor Cain and I to invade them?"

"No . . . it's nothing," he started to say then stopped, "Victoria . . . " he said suddenly, "if I tell you something, will you not get mad at me?"

Vickie chuckled as she went about checking the machines in the room, making sure they were all operating fine, as she did every day.

"I went to the examination room," X said softly, like a child admitting finally he had stolen the last piece of candy, "and I saw . . . I saw Doctor Cain's robot . . . "

"And you saw it fail," Vickie said softly, sadly.

X nodded.

"That must be hard on you," she said as she walked over, placing a hand on X's arm, "I heard about it through the communications lines right before I left for my rounds."

X closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her. "I know Doctor Cain wants to prove that I can be copied," he said, "but . . . "

"How many more robots will die before he perfects you?" Vickie asked. It seemed, at least to X, as if she could read his thoughts.

X nodded again, staying silent.

"Who knows?" she said more than asked, "your systems are far too complex to be copied exactly and we don't have enough of Doctor Right's notes to know every little detail of how he created you. So it'll be a series of failures until Doctor Cain can figure out exactly how you can function and re create that in another form."

"But . . . do they have to die?" X asked, his voice soft and pleading.

"They aren't really alive," Victoria said, "they have no soul, no personality, nothing but the base robotic parts."

"Still," X said, "they had a chance to be alive, like me, to function."

Victoria patted his arm then walked away. "I'm sorry I can't be of any more help, X," she said, "but this advanced field of robotics is too new to us. We're almost literally flying blind. And that was the Doctor's first attempt. Who knows? Maybe the next one will be a success?"

X said nothing, only nodding, returning his emerald gaze back out the window as she continued her work. He heard the soft hiss of the door as she left the room and he closed his eyes, his core still feeling sad at the loss of a mere robot.

He finally opened his eyes and looked up into the azure heavens. "Is this what you wanted of me, father?" he asked softly, "did you want me to feel such pain? Did you want me to mourn every time a soul, whether human or robot was lost? Is this to be my burden?" Or was this just some quirk to his programming, as one of the doctors had said while they had examined X, just something he had picked up or developed suddenly?

When he heard the door open again he turned to look. "Doctor Cain," he said, voice softer than he had wanted it to be.

"Failure," the elderly doctor said, "I failed. I thought I had everything right. I did everything the way it was supposed to be done. I don't know what went wrong."

X said nothing, not knowing what to say.

"I need to study you again, to see what went wrong," Doctor Cain said, "I need to see what I might have missed."

"When do you want me down in the examination room?" X asked.

"As soon as possible," Doctor Cain said before he turned toward the door, "and X . . . I had really hoped I could have given you a companion, someone you could relate to better than us humans."

X only shook his head even though he knew Doctor Cain couldn't see it. "I don't need a companion," he said, "I feel comfortable around humans. Even if I don't fit into your society . . . I am accepted by at least a few."

Doctor Cain nodded and left without a word.

X sighed softly, not moving for a moment, arms crossed and head bowed. After a short while he finally moved and headed down to the examination room, his steps heavy and seeming to echo more down the corridors.

He entered the room and moved over to the table, laying down. His gaze lit upon the failed robot and he felt a ripple of sadness pass through his core as he heard once again the echoing screams of the robot's last moments. He closed his eyes and waited, listening as people entered, as the tech staff readied the room. Heard and felt the connections being made to his systems, the last into his audio receiver, effectively 'deafening' him on one side.

"X, are you ready?" he heard Doctor Cain ask.

"I am," X said, not opening his eyes, "switching to stand by mode on your command."

He heard nothing as he felt the air mask being placed over his mouth, a precaution in case they needed to pump air directly to his core to keep it cool.

"Go to stand by, now," he heard Doctor Cain say.

X immediately altered the command lines setting his systems into a dormant state, leaving just his mental processes, core, coolant system and other vital functions online. He had even killed his external sensors and pain centers, knowing that they would have to basically strip him of his outer shell to reveal his inner workings. This was where he had first learned the concept of faith, hope and trust, for if Doctor Cain had made a mistake in his initial and sub sequential examinations of X's systems first hand, then X would have ceased to function.

His internal clock registered the length of time and as it grew longer and longer and the command to come out of stand by hadn't been given, X began to worry. What if something had happened? He didn't dare bring himself back fully online until he knew it was safe. He had drowned out the talking around him as Doctor Cain worked on him, waiting only for the words for him to reactivate his systems.

Finally he heard a weary and almost defeated voice. Doctor Cain's voice. "X, you can wake up now."

X switched himself back on and once everything read green, he sat, looking over to Doctor Cain.

"I just can't figure out what went wrong," Doctor Cain said, "I just don't know what happened."

"What if I'm supposed to be unique?" X asked, "what if Doctor Right didn't plan on creating any more than just me, had he lived long enough?"

"That could be the case," Doctor Cain said, "but you hold in you a great promise for the future."

"What if you started small?" X asked, "worked on simple machines instead of something as complex as myself?"

Doctor Cain brought a hand to his bearded chin, stroking it in thought. "Maybe machines don't need brains to work, just enough intelligence to obey a certain set of commands."

"A sort of mechanical droid," X said, "something to do the hazardous work instead of the humans."

"My boy," Doctor Cain said, "that just might be the way to go instead. Then, once I can perfect them, I can figure out how to translate that over into you."

X nodded and smiled. "I wish to help," he said as he looked up to Doctor Cain, "I want to help you realize your dream . . ."

Doctor Cain smiled. "I'd like that, my boy," he said, "I'd like that a lot."

X smiled, his core feeling the weight of the robot's death lift from it. Maybe together they could prevent any further deaths of future robots?

"Doc," Cedric said with a soft sigh, "I don't think two more factories are going to do it. We're going to need to apply for a permit to build three. I mean, we already have orders for hundreds of those mechanical droids from several mining corporations we're trying to fill, not to mention the couple hundred we just received from the bio and aqua techs who need droids who can withstand the pressures of the deep sea or the hazards of dealing with toxic chemicals."

"Do what you think is best," Doctor Cain said as he looked up from the notes X and he had been going over, "if it'll be profitable then go for it."

"As you wish, sir," Cedric said before taking his leave.

X looked up from the schematics, one hand still in one of the pockets of his lab coat, a habit he had picked up from one of the techs. "If we fail to recreate another robot, at least these mechaniroids will do nicely. So far they've fulfilled your dreams."

"But they can't think," Doctor Cain said, "they can't anticipate trouble. They can't react to sudden changes except as their programming allows. If we had someone with your ability to think doing those jobs then there's a good chance they wouldn't get stuck in a situation they couldn't get out of. They could easily predict, like a trained human could, when something is about to go wrong and they can make corrections before it gets out of hand."

Which, X had to agree, was true.

"I just never realized that so many corporations would jump at the chance to own mechaniroids to replace their workers and out dated machines," Doctor Cain said.

"They have been the help you had sought," X said, "but, the humans were not always agreeable with the mechaniroids. Remember the uprising against the mechaniroids a couple of weeks ago by workers who feared becoming jobless? What if they refuse to accept the new robots?"

"Sometimes changes are hard for humans to make," Doctor Cain said, "it might take time but I'm sure that humanity will find the value of robots doing the work to be more beneficial than not."

X only nodded. He had read and studied every facet of human culture in the weeks and months they had been analyzing him and working on the first robot. He knew how humanity had not always accepted new things, new pieces of technology, especially if they considered it a threat to their way of life.

"So," Doctor Cain said, "do the schematics line up?"

"I can see no distinct differences between my specs from Doctor Right and the specs you have created except for the few deviations you had to include to make up for the lack of understanding in this time," X said.

Doctor Cain nodded. "When you're ready we can begin building this new robot."

X nodded as well. As they walked he hoped that this, the second robot Doctor Cain had devised would not meet the fate the first one had.

The techs had already laid out the necessary materials for them to begin construction on this new robot that Doctor Cain had named Adam from the biblical Adam and Eve who were the first members of the human race. X had studied human religion around the world and the thought that Doctor Cain and himself would become a sort of modern day, man-made gods disturbed him for reasons he couldn't readily identify.

It would take nearly four months to construct Adam, longer than it normally would have but X had insisted that they go slow and analyze each and every part as it had been constructed to make sure it wouldn't fail, the longest time being spent on the core, the heart and what he considered the soul of the robot. He wanted to make sure that Adam would survive the revival process and wouldn't be carelessly tossed on the scrap heap as a failure. The last thing he wanted on his conscious was for another life to be lost in the name of research.

When they had finished, X stepped back and simply took in the physical form of their creation. Adam had been given a dark tan and cream colored shell, more angular in design than X's was. Where the 'body suit' would have been, Doctor Cain had wanted white, both as a symbol of purity since Adam was going to be the first successful representative of what he hoped would be a new race, but also of hope that this would work. Doctor Cain had also decided that Adam would have locks of curly, black hair spilling around the edges of his helmet in an almost unruly manner and his skin would be a moderate shade of tan whereas X's had been lighter, almost pale.

"Now for the moment of truth," Doctor Cain said, "time to wake Adam up."

X nodded as he stood there, his gaze on the robot.

"Do you want to do the honors?" Doctor Cain asked.

X hesitated before looking over to the elderly doctor, wondering if his audio receivers had heard correctly.

"Adam is as much your creation as he is mine," Doctor Cain said, "which means he is your descendant and a continuation of Doctor Right's line."

Feeling a slight skip to his core, X moved over, his finger hovering over the button as his processors made last minute checks to make sure everything had been done according to plan and to the best of their abilities. With a soft, almost shuddering breath, X pressed the button, stepping back, his gaze going to the machines attached to Adam.

His gaze flicked to Adam then the machines every so often as he heard the faint click of a light shifting color, from the yellow of standby to the green of a passed system. So far everything seemed to be in order, no traces of a problem that would cost Adam his life.

As the last light turned green, X found himself unconsciously holding his breath. He watched Adam, watched the gentle rising and falling of his chest as his systems took in air and expelled it, the almost invisible fluttering of his eyelids, the nearly hidden twitch of his fingers. Slowly a hand raised as Adam placed it awkwardly against his temples, brows drawn together.

X jumped when Doctor Cain nudged his arm with an elbow, gesturing toward Adam with his chin, a huge grin on his face. It took X a moment to realize what the elderly doctor wanted him to do and, going over, he smiled softly down at the new robot. "Greetings," X said, "may your life be long and productive."

"Not quite how I would have said it," Doctor Cain said with a soft chuckle, "but close enough."

Adam slowly opened his nearly black eyes, blinking once as he looked to X. "You're like me," he said in a deepish voice.

"I am an advanced robot, yes," X said, "I helped create you with Doctor Cain's permission."

Adam shifted his gaze to where Doctor Cain stood, just behind X. "You are not like me," he said simply.

"Nope," Doctor Cain said, "I'm human, not a robot."

"I know what a human is," Adam said, "and I know what a robot is . . . That information has been pre programmed into me."

"I wanted you to know everything we could possibly teach you," Doctor Cain said, "unlike X, I wanted you to have a head start."

X nodded. He had agreed that the idea of pre programming Adam would be better than taking a chance of having an uncontrollable robot on their hands since they didn't want to wait the thirty years that Doctor Right was willing to wait to test X's integrity.

Adam was silent, no doubt taking in the world around him as X had done but, with a different mindset as he already understood what he would encounter, even if the actual tactile responses were lacking.

"Now, my boy," Doctor Cain said, "once you're able to stand and walk, I'll take you to your new room where you can rest, inquire what you want to and we'll get you started in learning what we didn't program into you plus experiencing what you do know."

Adam seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Why do you call me 'boy'?" he asked, "I am a robot, we already established that. I am not a human."

Doctor Cain chuckled. "X said something similar when he first woke. I'm using that term as a figure of speech. But, you are my son since I created you. And, you are also X's son since he helped to create you."

A furrow came to Adam's brow. "I am programmed to understand that a male and a female are needed to create a child . . . But both of you are male and robots can not give birth . . . "

"This is a different case," Doctor Cain said, "you were given life by both of us. You were created by us. That makes you our son."

"How is this case different?" Adam asked, "is my programming faulty?"

"Humans do need a male and a female to create a new life, but that's because there are different changes that occur. Humans are formed of flesh and blood inside the mother. You were formed of metal and fluids on this very table," X said.

Adam fell silent for a moment. "It seems illogical to program me with knowledge that is not correct."

Doctor Cain laughed, causing X to shift his gaze from Adam to the elderly doctor.

"Is something funny?" Adam asked before X could.

"Here you are, just a few minutes old and we're debating the terminology of your creation," Doctor Cain said, "this is more than I had ever imagined."

"What was it you had imagined?" Adam asked, looking from Doctor Cain to X.

X was speechless for a moment. "I was hoping for a miracle," he simply said.

Adam seemed confused by that. "A miracle is an event that happens that is considered beneficial and unexpected. It comes from religion when an occurrence that cannot be explained except by divine intervention has taken place. Yet religion is a human construction, it has no place for robots. We are not formed by a god, we are created by man."

"Miracles are not just regulated to religion," X said, "a miracle can be described, as you said, by an unexpected and beneficial event, but it does not necessarily involve a religious belief. It would be easier to explain in parable than it would to use the dictionary term."

"And what miracle were you hoping for?" Adam asked.

"I was hoping for the miracle that you would survive the initial boot up process and live," X said simply.

"I was hoping to create another like X so he'd have a companion of his own race," Doctor Cain said, "and to prove that not only could X be copied but that more like him would be beneficial to mankind."

Adam nodded. "And am I what you expected?"

"You are more, my boy," Doctor Cain said, pride in his voice, "much more."

Adam smiled at that.

X felt a conflict of emotions deep inside. He felt pride that Adam had not succumbed to the same problems that the first prototype had, but also another emotion that Doctor Cain had described as jealousy. But why he should feel such a dark emotion on a happy occasion like this was beyond him. He ran a quick check while he watched Doctor Cain talk with Adam to see if there was any glitches. When he found none he internally frowned.

However, when Adam attempted to stand and nearly collapsed, X didn't even think as he hurried over and caught the robot under one arm, supporting his weight, glad Adam was no bigger than he was.

"Thank you," Adam said.

"You're welcome," X said.

"Let's take Adam to room B413," Doctor Cain said, "that way he can have his own room but be close enough to us that if he needs anything, he can easily contact us."

X nodded. "It's a long walk," he told Adam, "do you think you can make it under your own power?"

"I can," Adam said, "my stabilizers are starting to align themselves all ready."

X nodded once, taking a slow step, letting Adam get used to walking. He knew from experience how difficult it was to learn how to walk, even if he had been programmed with the mechanics of it. Knowledge and experience were two different things and that was what they needed to teach Adam, how to incorporate the two so he could exist effortlessly in human society. Then they could tackle the problem of getting humans to actually accept these replicated droids as a part of their world, one that seemed like it was going to be a nearly impossible and never ending task.


	4. A New Dawn

Disclaimer - I don't own them, just doing this because it was a slow, snowy day at work (and the original draft filled one sheet of paper and both free areas of a stock list O.o) Though this revision happened during the fall of '04 and will expand this fic quite a bit.

This is set WAY before X1 and is my version of how things came to be. This is going to be done as accurately as possible using information from all of the X games. Of course, there will be some liberties taken, especially if the information isn't readily available, but it will be an attempt to follow a logical path as to how events in the X series came to be. Even with information from Irregular Hunter X, I prefer to think of that game as being a separate canon timeline as opposed to the timeline proposed by the original games, the ones I'm following for my fics. Thank you Tikimother for beta'ing this.

Read and enjoy!

**Timescape Saga**

**Of Irregulars and Hunters**

**Book One  
Genesis**

**Chapter Three  
A New Dawn**

(C) 10 - 19 - 2004 to 02 - 04 - 2006 All Rights Reserved  
By Goldenmane

X sighed softly to himself as he overlooked the production line. Already Repriroids had been rolling off of the assembly lines at a rapid pace since the license to build them had been granted to Doctor Cain. And although Repriroids didn't enjoy the same freedoms humans did, they seemed to be readily accepted in society.

Crossing his arms, X watched as the workers below, mostly human with a few Repriroids, created the intricate parts that would become Repriroid cores. Doctor Cain had assigned X to oversee the production of new Repriroids while he worked on continuous upgrades and advances to further expand the different types of Repriroids that could be created.

"You know, I never thought I'd see the day when something I had helped build would be helping me to build others like it," X heard a human worker say. He looked over in the general direction of the speaker, one of the newer techs that had been hired to help with the increased demand mass producing Repriroids had created. He noted the mirth in her partner's eyes, a Repriroid built with jet black armor flecked in gold and blue specks along the metal shell.

"And I never expected I'd be working with one of my creators, either," the Repriroid said.

At least the workers were getting along, no matter what race. And that was always a good sign. And even out in the field, as Doctor Cain called it, in the real world where Repriroids worked alongside humans in day to day tasks, tensions seemed to be low. True, there were a few extremist groups who had decided that Repriroids were an abomination and should be destroyed, but they had been mostly contained by not only the media but by supporters of Repriroids and what they had to offer humanity.

Of course, paradise could be deceiving at times and the extremists did have some cannon fodder to use against Repriroids. Namely the fact that a handful out of the first thousands produced had glitched somewhere in their neuro processors and had become violent. But that hadn't happened again in a long time. Though that didn't stop the Council, set up by the government to handle anything that dealt with Repriroids, from deciding that something must be done. Which was why Doctor Cain was busy working on new Repriroids, ones that would not degrade, glitch or become corrupted and would also be virus free. Though so far no Repriroid had been infected by any type of computer virus, the elderly doctor didn't want to take any chances.

X began to pace as he waited for the shift to end, seeming impatient as the seconds seemed to drag on. Maybe it was his urge to see how his mentor and caretaker was doing on his latest project, a behemoth of a Repriroid, at least compared to X's slender frame, one that would be strong and powerful yet kind and compassionate. One that would be resistant to all viruses and include some of the breakthrough circuitry Doctor Cain had developed. No one had given this new Repriroid a name yet since it was still just a featureless shell, mostly the infrastructure and key parts. He knew the boys down at the plant would have already sent the shell, though he had yet to see what it would look like, still locked away in storage. Doctor Cain was keeping a very tight lip about this project.

With a soft sigh, X looked over at the huge wall clock. Too long, he mused, too long until he could go and check up on the new Repriroid, the crown in Doctor Cain's career.

"Sir?" a young female voice asked, one that startled X out of his musing, "there's a call for you on line one. They said it was urgent."

X turned to face the young secretary and nodded before walking over to the phone. He picked it up and watched as she left the room. "This is X, to whom am I speaking with?"

"No need to be so formal, X," Cedric's voice said over the phone, "it's just me. But I wanted you to know before it gets spread out over all the media and Doctor Cain hears it second hand, but two of the Repriroids working at the energy plant became unstable and started destroying the area around them. Another Repriroid managed to throw a live cable at them and fried their cores, stopping them."

X paled at that. This was the first time any Repriroid had become unstable in a long time. "Do you know who they were?" he asked, a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"A couple of generic workers our of Plant R09382," Cedric said, "I don't know if they had names or just designation numbers."

"How long do you think before the media gets a hold of this?" X asked.

"Who knows?" Cedric said, "we can't stop them from broadcasting the news even if we wanted to."

"Get back to me when you learn more," X said, "I need to tell Doctor Cain now about this."

"Go," Cedric said, "I just hope he takes this news better than Vickie and I have."

X didn't bother with any form of good bye before hanging the phone up and teleporting to Doctor Cain's workshop. "Where is he?" he asked the elderly doctor's personal assistant.

"He's in the lab putting the finishing touches on the new robot," the lady said, "he gave specific orders not to be disturbed by anyone."

"This is an emergency," X said as he moved past her. He ignored her protest as he opened the door, closing it behind him. Adam was there, dressed in a long, white lab coat, much as he wore, clipboard in hand, assisting Doctor Cain.

"Ah, X," the elderly doctor said, "just the Repriroid I wanted to see."

"We have a problem," X said as he walked over, "Cedric just called. Apparently a couple of our workers glitched. They had to be destroyed."

Doctor Cain nodded. "I was afraid something like that wouldn't be just an isolated occurrence. I made sure when I built this fellow here that he'd have more protections and sub routines to prevent any degradation, viral infection or any problems a machine could have.

X remained silent. Every so often the doctor would refer to all Repriroids as simple machines, and he understood in a way, but in a way it hurt him as well. Repriroids were more than mere machines. They were sentient creatures, albeit metal not flesh.

"Come here and see my latest masterpiece," Doctor Cain said, waving X over.

X moved over and looked down at the Repriroid on the table. He was nearly complete, only a few pieces of his armor needed to be fitted, but he was still quite a sight to be seen.

He was tall, but not as tall as X had figured he would be. This new Repriroid bore orange gold boots, more streamline than X's two-part foot and leg units. The chest and lower arm armor was a rich shade of green, the body a deep black. A long plate covered where a human's privates would have been instead of the 'full' lower body armor such as X had been designed with. Touches of silver adorned the entire Repriroid giving him a powerful yet dignified look. What struck X the most was the fact that Doctor Cain had forgone a helmet-like structure for an angular human face, a firm, square jaw set below high cheekbones, a darkish red crystal sat in the center of this new Repriroid's forehead about where X's own crystal sat in his helmet.

"I've been trying to come up with a good name for him," Doctor Cain said, "something that better fits his resilience."

"I suggested Sigma," Adam said as he turned to look at X, "but Doctor Cain doesn't seem to like the name."

"It's Greek for 'eighteen' and he's not my eighteenth Repriroid," Doctor Cain said with a soft huff, folding his arms cross his chest, clipboard tucked under his arm.

"It has a sort of powerful connotation to it," Adam said, "it would befit a Repriroid as strong as this one will be."

X nodded. "Why don't you consider it?" he offered, "it's as good a name as any, considering all the factory and labor Repriroids have designation numbers as per what plant they came from instead of identities."

Doctor Cain said nothing for a moment. "Fine," he said, "this virus resilient brute will be named Sigma."

"Finally, I get to name a Repriroid," Adam said with a triumphant grin.

X smiled at that, happy inside that Adam had made even that small of an accomplishment.

"Now to go work on the problem of getting upgrades for the existing Repriroids so they won't glitch anymore," Doctor Cain said.

"We haven't figured out how to stop the degradation from happening," Adam said, "all theories and tests prove that you cannot determine which Repriroids are going to glitch and which are going to be spared that fate."

"And that's not comforting news to people since they never know if their workers or partners are going to suddenly turn on them and attack," Doctor Cain said, "I know the last poll taken showed that confidence in Repriroids had dropped slightly after that first scare that something had happened and a Repriroid had glitched."

"They wouldn't stop production of us, would they?" Adam asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"No," Doctor Cain said, "Repriroids are needed in the workforce more now than ever. I don't foresee a future where Repriroids will be hunted down like criminals or feared as a result of these glitches. There are no known viruses that will affect Repriroids like they do computer systems and if Sigma proves to be successful then I'll implement his system structure into all future Repriroids to prevent them from ever glitching again or becoming susceptible to any viral cases that might show up in the future."

X nodded, breathing a small sigh of relief. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about Repriroids being seen as a menace rather than the help they have been.

"Now, it's time for Sigma to wake and start his new life," Doctor Cain said as he moved over and pressed the button to activate Sigma.

X watched as the lights began to flick from the orange of standby to the green of ready. Not since the first days when Doctor Cain had begun his tests and experiments on X to see if he could recreate the old robot had they had any failures except in the most extreme cases. And then only where they had modified a Repriroid's systems to withstand some extreme or other where the variables and factors had been new ground they were covering.

Slowly Sigma shifted and a hand twitched. His pupil less blue eyes opened and he moved his head to look first at Doctor Cain who was the closest then to Adam and lastly to X. "You are my creators," he said, voice a deep resonance in the lab room.

"Well, I am," Doctor Cain said, "Adam here just helped me and X just came in to give us some distressing news."

Sigma nodded then slowly he sat, large hands gripping the edge of the table. "From what I was programmed with, distressing news is not the best thing to hear."

"Repriroids have started to glitch," Doctor Cain said, "and we have no idea why or how to stop it."

"Will I glitch in the future?" Sigma asked.

"No," Doctor Cain said, "I've made sure to incorporate all of my latest designs into you. You are free from any danger of glitches or virus infections. In a nutshell, you're the perfect Repriroid ever built."

Sigma simply nodded, his gaze once more resting on X. "I have knowledge about you in my data banks," he said, "you are the first of us. You are the one that allowed us to be created."

"Doctor Cain analyzed my systems and translated that over to what was later called Repriroids," X said, "I had no say in the matter."

"You probably should have but that's a moot point by now," Doctor Cain said, "Repriroids have so integrated themselves into society it's sometimes hard to remember they were never here in the first place."

X stayed silent, withdrawing a bit. Once he had been the center of attention, not at that time he realized just what it meant. But now, to see others of his kind, more advanced, stronger, more agile and smarter made a part of him inside ache with a reason he couldn't quite understand.

"Now to run a few tests on you to make sure everything is working perfectly then I'll assign you to a division to work," Doctor Cain said.

"If you will excuse me," X said, "I should get back to my own work. I just wanted to let you know about the incident."

"Fine, fine," Doctor Cain said absently, his attention all on Sigma, "keep your ears peeled in case this happens again. I want to know ASAP."

"Ok," X said before turning to leave, passing the secretary who seemed still angry at him for barging in on Doctor Cain and Adam. He ignored her since she was the least of his concerns. He returned to his office and sat with a soft sigh before filing through the papers he had stacked on his desk, but his mind was far from his office.

Casting his gaze to the clock on the wall, X set the pen in his hand down and rose. He paused before scribbling a note, setting it where anyone who came looking for him would see it. Shrugging out of his lab coat and and hanging it on the peg near his door, he left, heading out of the lab to the bright sun outside. He squinted in an automatic reaction to the change of light, pausing as his optics adjusted for the brightness around him.

With no particular destination in mind, X went to his hover bike and mounted it. He started the smallish machine and checked the display to make sure it was at peak operating efficiency before slowly backing out. He kicked it into gear and headed into town. Maybe a long walk somewhere away from the lab would do him some good and help him to clear out his thoughts.

Trees, buildings and even vehicles seemed to speed by X as he headed to the local park. He knew that would be the best place for him to go to think. Even if there were others there he would still be alone enough to think without worrying about someone stopping him to ask what was bothering him. He knew that Cedric and Vickie meant well and that, before he had so absorbed himself in his work Doctor Cain had hovered over the old robot in worry and concern.

Finding a handy spot to park, not minding how far he would have to walk, X pulled the bike in and shut it off. He rose and looked around. Only a handful of cars sat in the parking lot and no one could be seen.

With a soft sigh X dismounted and headed into the park, passing through the rows and rows of hedges that isolated this pure patch of nature from the rest of the city which bustled with human and Repriroid life. Having learned early on in life, even though he had only been active not even a year, X kept his radar on as he walked to prevent him from hitting any one or any thing. He let his thoughts wander as he walked, drifting back to an earlier time when it had been just himself who represented what would become a new race to inhabit the Earth. He reflected on how Doctor Cain had devoted all of his time to X, making sure that anything and everything X might need was taken care of, no matter what the cost or trouble getting it. But once Adam had awoken and the elderly doctor had turned his attention to his first creation, X had fallen by the wayside. Even though he had been respected and honored as being the first of a new kind of robot the attention had shifted to Adam the 'first man' of the Repriroid world and it had left X with a strange, cold feeling he couldn't easily describe or put a name to.

But why did he feel so cold when Doctor Cain paid more attention to Adam and his other creations than to the old robot? X pondered on that for a moment, trying to come up with a concrete answer, with some tangible data, something he could use to pinpoint the problem, like a solid diagnostic. Though, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. The answers were there, he could sense them, but to be able to bring them out into the light was another matter.

X looked up at a sound, a child crying. He stopped, watching the young human boy as he stood there, crying, stomping a foot every time the Repriroid with him tried to get him to follow her. He found himself frozen to the spot as he watched the boy throw himself to the ground, crying and screaming. The Repriroid knelt, speaking softly to the child, reaching out gently to touch his shoulder or arm, never once seeming upset or mad that the boy was throwing a temper tantrum. Her expression was soft, peaceful, as if she had no worries in the world, not even watching over this child.

X blinked when he watched her draw the child, still crying, into her arms and held him close like a mother would her child, rocking him back and forth gently and whispering something that was just too faint for X's audio receivers to make out. Whatever it was the child nodded and sniffed before burying his face against her armored shoulder. The lady walked off, the same expression still on her face, disappearing a few moments later behind a row of bushes as the path branched out.

Letting go a breath he wasn't conscious he was holding, only realizing it when he noticed a small overheating warning blinking in the corner of his vision, X continued on his way. He thought on how the Repriroid had handled the child. Was that how it was with Doctor Cain? Had he treated X with kindness only because he was, in essence, a very young child when he had awoken? And now that he had other 'children', those created by his own hand, did they deserve more attention than X? Was it X's time to step out of the spotlight and let the advanced robots, those who deserved the name of Repriroid, take that light and carry it forth to further benefit their own kind?

Stopping by a fountain, X gazed into the clear water. Much as he had after he had gone with Doctor Cain back to the place of his awakening, X stared at his reflection, studying his face and what he could see of his armor. He still looked young, by human standards, as if he was an older teen, young adult. Never once had he thought about having Doctor Cain make him look older. What was time to a machine after all?

X hesitated at that word. It pained him to think that humans still thought of the sentient robots as machines. They were more than the mindless mechaniroids who simply followed a preset set of commands to perform its task. Repriroids were more, much more. They were as sentient as any human was. They could think, make their own decisions, they could become whatever they wanted to be regardless of programming. They were not bound by a set of rules as the mechaniroids were. They were free, even if human society kept placing more and more restrictions on Repriroids. It had taken a lot from Doctor Cain to allow Repriroids the right to walk freely in the world without some form of guardian with them. He only hoped these latest incidents wouldn't set that back and force the humans, especially the Council to enforce new rules to take away the rights a Repriroid should have.

With a soft sigh, his questions still unanswered, X returned to his hover bike feeling a bit better but still empty inside. He headed back to the lab to finish his work for the day assuming no one would have missed him while he had been gone. When he stepped into his office and saw Doctor Cain sitting there, arms crossed and a scowl on his face, X hesitated.

"You can't just go running off like that," Doctor Cain said, "these workers here are depending on you."

"I know," X said, "but I needed room to think."

"What could be more important than the work we're doing here?" the elderly doctor asked.

"Nothing," X said, voice going a bit soft before he could stop himself.

Doctor Cain rose from where he had been leaning against X's desk and he walked over. "I want you to work personally with Sigma," he said, "I want you to help teach him about the world around him."

X nodded, wondering why Doctor Cain would do such a thing.

"I want you to make sure he finds a hobby," Doctor Cain said, "I have to make sure his field tests work out so I can start working on a new generation of Repriroids that can move out of the workforce and into the real world. I want them to enjoy as many privileges as they can and not seem like mere workers."

X nodded again. "I'll try my best, sir," he said.

Doctor Can returned the nod and patted X on the shoulder. He gave the old robot a soft smile before heading out the door.

Hesitating a bit X kept his gaze on the door before turning to his desk. He noticed the new papers there and he skimmed them over, too many thoughts running around in his head to allow any one thing to take hold. It was a work order. One detailing out what Doctor Cain wanted X to do with Sigma. He knew this was going to be a challenge but one he did look forward to, even if it only meant the elderly doctor was paying attention to him again.

X began to scribble notes down on a pad when he heard a knock on the door. "Enter," he said simply.

"Doctor Cain sent me to see you," Sigma said, "he said you are going to be my trainer."

"Not so much a trainer," X said, surprised to see the behemoth or a Repriroid so soon, "as a guide."

"Then you will guide me in how to act," Sigma said simply.

X nodded. "That's what Doctor Cain wants. He wants me to teach you about the world and find a hobby for you."

"A hobby?" Sigma asked, "that word is not a part of my programming."

X paused, trying to think of how to phrase it. "A hobby is an activity that someone enjoys doing," he said, "there are many different types of hobbies. I'll try to show you a few of them and see what seems interesting to you."

Sigma nodded. "And when do we begin?" he asked.

"I don't see why we can't leave now," X said, "have you been programmed in how to use a hover bike?"

"No," Sigma said.

"Well, does your teleport unit work?" X asked instead.

"It does," Sigma said simply.

X nodded. If there was one thing he was going to have to do would be to find a way to get Sigma to lighten up and not be so cold and robotic seeming. But, he knew, given time and he would adjust to being alive and his personality program would learn how to work better and give him less and less of a robotic feel and more natural. "Then we'll just teleport to the city and I'll give you a tour of it. I'll show you a few hobbies and you can see what sparks an interest in you and we can go from there."

Sigma nodded, seeming to be a Repriroid of very few words.

X jotted a note and rose, going over to Sigma's side. He handed the new Repriroid a set of coordinates. "This will take us to the downtown district. I know it's going to be quite a change from the lab, especially since you haven't been active all that long, but it's the best place to start."

Sigma simply nodded before teleporting.

X blinked at the sudden teleport and followed suit. "I meant for you to wait until I gave the signal."

"If I am in error then I must be corrected," Sigma said.

"Just remember that you must follow my commands and words to the letter," X said, "and I can forgive you of that transgression."

"As you wish," Sigma said before looking around.

X had learned how to drown out the sounds and sights of the city, tall skyscrapers made of metal and glass, cars that roared by and the bustle of both humans and Repriroids as they went about their daily business. But he knew to Sigma it would be a new, almost alien world, one he would need to explore as a child explored its world.

"This place is large," Sigma said as he turned around to get a better view of the area around them.

"It is," X said, "the original city expanded after the creation of Repriroids. It's nearly twice the size it used to be. There are some sections that are off limits to Repriroids just as there are some sections off limits to humans. I don't know if Doctor Cain programmed you with the reason why or not."

"Because some areas are too dangerous for humans to exist in and therefore are only suitable to Repriroids," Sigma said, voice sounding as if he was reading from a book, "and there are some areas too fragile for Repriroids to exist and so the two must stay separate."

"That's one way to explain it," X said, "but humans sometimes fear Repriroids and they need their areas where they can go and feel safe. The same can be said about Repriroids as well."

"Why would a human fear a Repriroid?" Sigma asked, shifting just enough to look down at X.

X hesitated a bit. "Because Repriroids are stronger than humans," he said, "because humans are weak and Repriroids could easily kill them without meaning to. Humanity depends on our kind to help the world function, just as we depend on the humans for maintenance. Our two kinds are interdependent on each other."

"Which is why humans should be cared for at all costs," Sigma said.

"Right," X said, "now, let's head this way and if you have any questions feel free to ask me."

Sigma nodded and fell into step behind X.

X made sure to take the long, scenic route as they walked, trying to pass anything and everything that might spark some topic or other with Sigma. He even stopped by most of the hobby shops, those large enough for Repriroids to walk around in, hoping that something would take the giant's eye. But nothing seemed to spark even a remote interest.

As they passed an electronics store, Sigma stopped X and indicated the TV's in the window. "What is that?" he asked.

"That is a television, TV for short," X said.

"No," Sigma said as he indicated the pictures moving on it, an old movie that X had been told was about an ancient group of humans who hailed from a place once called Japan.

"That is a movie about samurai," X said, "Doctor Cain could tell you more about it if you want to know."

"What are those things called?" Sigma asked.

"They are called swords," X said, "I'm afraid I don't know much about swords."

"I wish to learn more about them," Sigma said, "and the way they are used."

X nodded. "We'll see what Doctor Cain has for information on them back at the lab."

Without warning Sigma teleported.

X sighed softly as he tried to track Sigma's signal, finding him back at the lab already. He teleported as well, landing next to Sigma. "We need to work on that," he said, "you shouldn't just teleport like that while you are still young."

"I saw no harm in the act," Sigma said, "no laws were broken."

"That may be," X said, "but while you are still learning about the world you shouldn't teleport without permission."

"Understood," Sigma said before walking off.

X just shook his head, returning to his office to jot down his report on Sigma, giving him high marks except in following orders, which was something Doctor Cain was going to have to work on. All in all it seemed as if this new Repriroid was going to turn out to be a huge success and a new shining star in the elderly doctor's crown of achievements when it came to robotics. But, X mused as he wrote, only time would tell if Sigma would learn to obey orders and accept the fact that he couldn't just do as he pleased.

X stopped by the observation deck as he watched Sigma practice. It had taken the gentle giant only a fraction of the time, by watching the old movies and videos he had learned how to imitate their style. The elder robot glanced over to Doctor Cain, watching the excitement and glimmer of pride in his eyes as he watched Sigma go through the moves once described as iado, the art of drawing the sword. And, X had to admit, Sigma was very good, as good as most masters who had practiced many, many decades whereas he had only been watching and reading about it for little less than a week.

"Well," Doctor Cain said, "at least you found a hobby for him. It wasn't quite what I expected but he seems happy with it."

X simply nodded. "He seems happy enough," he said, "and all of the field tests have come out perfect. He's even learned to follow orders without question."

"He'd make a fine soldier, don't you think?" Doctor Cain said, voice somewhat absent.

X looked over at Doctor Cain. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The Council contacted me," Doctor Cain said, "they want me to do something about the Repriroids who glitch. I was told to form a group of peacekeeping Repriroids who could respond to a problem and hopefully contain it before it starts."

"Are you going to do it?" X asked.

"I already have," Doctor Cain said simply.

"That's why you redistributed the workers in my wing," X said, "so they could go to another plant to work on these soldiers."

Doctor Cain nodded. "I had to," he said, "human society has become so dependent on Repriroids that it would no doubt crumble if your kind was removed from it. I had to build soldiers who could handle other Repriroids who glitch."

"You're talking about exterminating possible innocent Repriroids," X said.

"These peacekeepers will hunt for only those who do not conform to the standards laid out for Repriroids," Doctor Cain said, "they will not terminate any Repriroid until they know they cannot be saved."

X just nodded, his gaze down now even as the group around him began to clap once more at yet another move Sigma had no doubt made in his 'performance.'

"X," Doctor Cain said softly, resting a hand on the old robot's shoulder, "I'm trying to help save the Repriroids, not destroy them. If I don't do this then the Council might declare something more drastic like the termination of all of them, not just those who are irregular. I'll make sure that there are strict ground rules set in place to prevent any problems from happening. Don't worry about it."

X nodded. "Are you going to lead these hunters?"

"No, no, my boy," Doctor Cain said with a soft chuckle, "I have someone else better suited to the job."

"Sigma," X said as he looked over to the elderly doctor.

Doctor Cain nodded. "He might not be too old but he has shown a great level of competence. I'm sure with a bit more training he'd become a fine soldier and leader."

"Who's going to train him?" X asked.

"The Council is going to send a few people from the armed forces to work with Sigma," Doctor Cain said, "they'll make sure he's well versed in protocol and in the way we're going to work the hunters."

"Irregular Hunters," X mused, "somehow it almost sounds like we're condemning ourselves before any major problems really start."

"We're not," Doctor Cain said, "so don't worry. Just let me handle it."

X nodded again, falling silent.

"I want you to help me," Doctor Cain said, "I want you to help me work to develop new types of Repriroids for this new Hunter organization. I want you to remain my personal assistant."

"Ok," X said, voice a bit soft, "if you'll excuse me, I have something I forgot to tend to."

Doctor Cain only nodded a soft, if sad smile on his face.

X turned and left, wanting nothing more than to leave the lab and the thought of what was to become of Repriroids.

However, X retreated to the small, private gardens on the backside of the lab, a place built to take the new Repriroids out to experience nature first hand without risking an unwanted first contact with others. He found a place to sit on the low, stone wall and he gazed up into the night sky, his breath fogging before him, much as it had that night when Doctor Cain had first found and released X from his century long sleep. The stars seemed to twinkle just as much now as they did then.

"I don't know what to do," X said, voice soft as he kept his gaze cast to the heavens, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, what you'd want me to do. I feel so lost and alone, even now when I know I have those who care about me. I sometimes feel as if I really don't belong here, as if I should never have woken. I know it seems strange to hear me say it, but it's true. I know I have a job, what you'd call friends, a mentor and those who look up to me and who I look up to, but . . . somehow . . . it just seems so . . . so _hollow._ As if it's not real."

With a soft sigh X looked down. "What am I supposed to do? What did you want me to become? Why? Why is this happening to me? Why do I doubt like I do? Why do I hurt so much inside. Why am I so terrified of the thought of the Hunters being created?"

X fell silent when he noticed a blip on his radar. It was weak, almost unnoticeable, but it was close. A human, no doubt and he had a good idea who it was who had followed him. He only hoped he was wrong and that Doctor Cain hadn't heard what he had said. The last thing he needed was for the elderly doctor to doubt X's competency and take him off of the project. Not that he condoned Repriroids being used as fighters like that but he also, once he stopped to really think on it, wouldn't stop their creation knowing that prevention, in this case, would be much better than waiting until the Council decided to take drastic measures.

Rising from his seat, X began to walk around the grounds, both inside the smallish garden and outside to the electronic fences designed to keep the lab safe. He let the cool of the night air comfort him, hoping to hear even a whisper of an answer on the breeze though a part of him knew such a thing would never happen. This was something he had to deal with himself and only the future would know what and when those answers would appear. He would be the one who would need to take control of his destiny, whatever that might be, not some ghosts of the past who he would never see or get to know, who could answer his questions and save him the inner pains he felt, both of not knowing what had been expected of him as well as abandonment. Though he had seen the message from Doctor Right, had known he would never have lived to see X wake, but that still didn't comfort the sapphire robot any.

With another soft sigh X returned to the lab, more specifically his recharge capsule. He opened the lid and hesitated running a hand along the edge before stepping in and settling himself down. He closed the lid and stared at his reflection as he waited for the capsule to lull him into a sleep mode, hoping in the morning he'd feel better and maybe not quite as empty.

"Sir," a Hunter said, "we have reports of an Irregular spotted at E-46."

"That's the location of Doctor Right's lab," Sigma said, "are the reports confirmed?"

"They are, sir," the Hunter said, "one Irregular bearing red armor was spotted rummaging around the area as if searching for something, but what we have no idea."

"Keep me informed," Sigma said, "send Garma to investigate. His Unit is more suited to intelligence."

"As you wish, sir," the Hunter said before turning back to his terminal.

Sigma crossed his arms as he turned toward the doors of the Command Center when they opened. "Doctor Cain, X."

"We've just established two more unit Commanders," Doctor Cain said, "I decided to separate a couple of units since they were so huge. One I made into the 4th Overland Unit and the 14th Grapple Combat Unit, the other I split into the 8th Armored Division and the 9th Special Forces."

Sigma nodded. "I will go over the notes as soon as I can. A Hunter on patrol picked up an Irregular near the Right Lab ruins and I've sent Garma to investigate."

Doctor Cain nodded. "I never figured anyone would really care about that old place but I guess I was wrong."

"Do you wish me to go to the ruins to investigate myself?" Sigma asked.

Doctor Cain shook his head. "No need. Garma is a very competent Commander. I'm sure he and his men can take care of it."

Sigma nodded before falling silent, still not one for 'small talk'.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your work," Doctor Cain said, "I just wanted to let you know the changes so you know how to redistribute your forces."

Sigma simply nodded and he watched as Doctor Cain hesitated before turning to take his leave, X following him. The Hunter Commander turned his attention back to the monitors and the feeds to each unit's outpost. So far, except for this single Irregular, things had been very quiet. Not that he was one to go look for a fight but he was also not one to sit around and do nothing.

"Sir," a Hunter said, "Garma reports the Irregular has refused to respond to calls to stop and has teleported."

"Tell him to keep on it and to follow this Irregular until he subdues him," Sigma said, "I'll be in my quarters going over the new reports."

"Yes, sir," the Hunter said.

Sigma turned and left, heading back to his quarters. No sooner had he entered then he paused upon hearing a commotion in the hallway. He turned around and watched as Vava, part of his Seventeenth Elite Unit fired on a fellow Hunter, killing him instantly.

"What is this about?" Sigma asked.

"He started it," Vava said, "I just finished it."

"Firing and killing a Hunter is an offense punishable by death," Sigma simply said.

Vava only half shrugged.

"I'm going to have to take you into custody for that," Sigma said, withdrawing his sabre."

"I'd like to see you try it," Vava said, "I have the advantage." He lowered his shoulder cannon, aiming it at Sigma's chest.

The Hunter Commander didn't even blink as he stepped in, saber coming up and biting into the lower part of Vava's cannon.

The former member of the Seventeenth blinked, the only sign the slight dimming of his red optics. "Very good," he said, "I guess I'm your prisoner now. So take me away and lock me up. Not that you can hold me for long. Nothing can hold me."

"We'll see about that," Sigma said as he hit his com unit. "Requesting two Hunters for an Irregular pick up outside my quarters. I'm holding the prisoner as we speak."

"Right away sir," a voice said over his unit.

"I could just as easily teleport," Vava said, "and you couldn't stop me."

"But you're not the type to run," Sigma said, "something I always admired in you."

"Then let me go," Vava said, "oh, that's right, you're too 'uprighteous' for your own good."

"I am the leader of the Hunters," Sigma said, "you should know better."

Two Hunters teleported in and paused, shocked looks on their faces.

"Vava is under arrest for killing a Hunter in cold blood," Sigma said, "take him away to the cells while I report this to Doctor Cain. And call a medic to take the body away."

"Yes, sir," one of the Hunters said with a salute.

Sigma turned and entered his quarters, starting to write his report for Doctor Cain. He didn't get the chance to finish it when suddenly there was a call over his radio.

"Sir! Report from Garma," the Hunter operator said, "the irregular has wiped out half of his unit . . . bare handed. He is requesting back up support."

"What?" Sigma exclaimed, "how can an Irregular have that much power?"

"I don't know," the Hunter said, "now we're receiving word that only four of them live. Garma has fallen."

"Where is this Irregular," Sigma said, "send me the coordinates."

Once he received the coordinates he teleported, determined to stop this Irregular from killing any more Hunters and to see for himself just what kind of power this Irregular had that could so easily slaughter a crack Hunter unit.


	5. Consequences

Disclaimer - I don't own them, just doing this because it was a slow, snowy day at work (and the original draft filled one sheet of paper and both free areas of a stock list O.o)

This is set WAY before X1 and is my version of how things came to be. This is going to be done as accurately as possible using information from all of the X games. As always, please keep in mind that there has to be some literary license to fill in the gaps the games leave. Thanks to Tikimother for beta'ing this for me.

Read and enjoy!

**Timescape Saga**

**Of Irregulars and Hunters**

**Book One  
Genesis**

**Chapter Four**  
**Consequences**

(C) 1 - 13 - 2004 to 6 - 05 - 2005 All Rights Reserved  
By Goldenmane

_Zero . . . _

**_Back up systems initiated._**

**_Loading boot protocols._**

**_Protocols accepted._**

**_Loading main files._**

**_Main files loaded._**

**_Initiating main core._**

**_Main core functioning at 100 percent._**

_My masterpiece . . ._

**_Testing total available memory._**

**_Total memory allotted 34,968 TB_**

**_Actual memory used 9010 TB_**

**_Warning. Memory files corrupted. Percent of memory files loaded 54._**

**_Initiating recovery of memory files from back up source._**

**_Back up source detected._**

**_Files loaded._**

_You are my most cherished creation . . ._

**_Testing cache._**

**_Primary data cache listed at 512 KB_**

**_Primary instruction cache listed at 768 KB_**

**_Back up cache listed at 32,768 KB_**

**_Cache operating at 100 percent._**

_You will be the scourge of the world . . ._

**_Performing standard system check._**

**_Broad-range eye camera. 100 percent._**

**_Voice recognition system. 100 percent._**

**_Voice generation system. 100 percent._**

_You will succeed where others have failed . . ._

**_Energy generator. 100 percent._**

**_Micro-fusion fuel tank. 100 percent._**

**_Central joint-controlling system. 100 percent._**

**_Active weapon. 12 percent. Warning. System not complete._**

**_Energy amplifier. 55 percent. Warning. System degradation detected._**

**_Gyroscopic Stabilization System. 100 percent_**

**_Acceleration System. 34 percent. Warning. System degradation detected._**

**_Files not found on skeleton or shell data._**

_I will have my long awaited revenge . . ._

**_Control chip. 0 percent. Warning. Chip damaged or corrupted. Instability in the neuro pathways detected. Shutting down start up program._**

**_Override command Alpha. Continue loading program. Program must not cease under any conditions._**

**_Override accepted._**

**_Loading prime directive._**

**_Prime directive loaded._**

**_Prime directive violates the Rules. Override command initiated. Overriding the Rules. New parameters accepted._**

_Now go! Destroy him! That is an order!_

When his eyes slid open it was to a clear lid. And a reflection. Cold, deep sapphire eyes stared back at him. Dead eyes. The eyes of a madman. How he ended up there, he didn't know. Part of his memory files seemed damaged. Though what remained first and foremost in his mind was that he had someone he had to kill.

With a feral growl he began to shove at the lid confining him. He mustered every ounce of his strength and with a scream of rage he shattered the lid. He stepped out, metal feet crunching on the Plexiglas that littered the floor around the capsule. He looked around, trying to establish his surroundings. This was not the last memory file he could pull up. This was someplace different. Someplace he had never seen before. His memory files remembered a room with schematics he recognized as his own. Robots, slaughtered and strewn about the floor, results of his rage when they tried to subdue him. But this place was different, dark, nothing but the capsule he had broken free of. When he tried to access the satellite uplink to confirm his location, he found no signal.

With a soft growl he stalked out of the room, forced to pry the doors open with his bare hands. He snarled in rage as the doors refused to budge, his fingers leaving dents in the metal from the pressure he applied to it. Eventually they began to shift, a piercing screech of metal on metal as they parted just enough for him to pass.

His gaze scanned the corridor, cybernetic muscles tensed, ready to pounce on any prey he might come across. There was one order that burned clearly in his mind. Someone he had to destroy. Someone who should be near to where he was. He paused when he thought he heard a voice. When he saw a being come into view he lunged at it, fist drawn back. What he wasn't prepared for was the fact his hand went through this intruder, a strangled cry escaping a dying voice. He tossed the carcass aside and continued on, finding no other beings living there. He emerged into the brightness, his quarry nowhere to be found. He looked around, assessing his current location and which would be the best place to start looking for the one he had been ordered to destroy.

He found some metal beings, ones that almost matched his quarry. He snarled low in his throat, ignoring their meaningless words. He charged the nearest one, fist drawn back. He heard the crack as it connected to the robot's jaw, downing it. He sensed the energy spikes around him and he easily dodged out of the way as they fought back with weapons he had never seen before. His cold gaze easily detected each and every movement they made. In short order he had slaughtered the last one of them, suffering little damage.

Setting off, he faltered along the way, hand going to his forehead as a burning pain shot through it. He could feel it coursing through his tubes for veins, threatening to break free. Finding a structure he approached it. Little more than just a large, metal and rusty door set into a rock. As he neared, however, the door slid back and he paused, muscles tensed again as he waited for an attack. When none came he slowly and cautiously approached. He looked around the interior, stepping beyond the doorway. When the door closed behind him he made no move. Slowly he walked along. Maybe his quarry was in here?

When he heard whispered voices and quiet footsteps he turned, slinking into the shadows to watch and observe. He narrowed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists when two metal giants walked through an open doorway, what appeared to be weapons on their arms. Weapons his memory files indicated were no doubt some form of buster.

"This is where the scouts said that Irregular disappeared to after attacking them," one of them said.

"Stay on alert" the other one said, "we don't know what kind of Irregular could have the power to wipe out Garma's scouts like that. Even the poor old one who radioed us didn't survive. Shine that light around and let's see what we've found." 

"We need to avenge our Unit mates for that," the first one said as he shifted position, aiming the object in his hand around the darkened room.

He felt a burning in his mind, one that threatened to destroy him, threatened to crush him under it's weight. He growled softly, his gaze firmly locked on the lead metal giant. When something bright hit his eyes, he raised a hand, a low growl emanated from deep within his throat.

"Stop. Who are you?" the second one asked, the one with the infernal light.

But he did not answer. He had no name. Needed none. He was a killer, created and released. And killers needed no name . . .

"Come out peacefully," the lead one said, "we don't mean you any harm. We just want to talk to you."

He growled again as the pain burned brighter. With a pure bestial scream of rage he launched himself at the one with the light, one simple word forever burned into his core . . .

_Destroy._

Sigma watched emotionlessly through the one-sided glass. The red Irregular struggled against the bonds, shouting curses and insults to the medic Repriroids who monitored him. They had long since repaired the damage to the Irregular's forehead crystal and restored power to his systems. But, curiously enough, it was almost as if it were X they were scanning and not some Repriroid who had awoken an Irregular. His systems baffled the medics as much as X's did. He never thought he'd meet another Repriroid as mysterious as the ancient robot X.

He still could not understand why he had spared this Irregular. It was almost as if something drew him to it like the proverbial moth to a flame. Any Repriroid who had that much power at its disposal would make a powerful ally . . . or a powerful foe.

His gaze shifted to the far door as it opened. He watched as Doctor Cain's personal assistant entered, data pad in hand. Sigma chuckled as he fingered the newly repaired synthetic flesh of his face, two jagged, violet markings added in reminder of how close he had come to being terminated. X may be Doctor Cain's favored robot, but he was weak when it came to anything other than research. He'd get no answers from this Irregular. No answers at all. However, when the Irregular seemed to calm after X had spoken something, he became intrigued. To say the least.

He switched the speakers on, having shut them when the Irregular's curses became quite colorful. For having been newly revived, he had quite the vocabulary at his disposal.

"_Now, you do understand_," X said, "_that if you continue this way, Sigma will have you retired, dismantled and every chip analyzed. I don't think that even _you _would want that to happen_."

"_What's it to_ you?" the Irregular snarled.

"_I hate seeing any Repriroid glitch and become an Irregular_," X said, "_but your systems are fine and show no sign of degradation or malfunction associated with the Irregular state. The only problem they found was the fact that you are missing several key memory files. But there's no explanation as to why you were an Irregular_."

The Irregular said nothing and from his angle Sigma couldn't read his expression.

"_Can we at least call you by something other than your designation number_?" X asked.

"_Boot protocols list 'Zero' as the primary root name_," the Irregular said.

"_Strange_," X said, "_I wonder why 'Zero'_?"

"_Tell it to my creator_," the Irregular snarled.

"_Who is it_?" X asked.

"_I . . . don't know_," the Irregular said softly, confused.

This was the first time Sigma had heard any other emotion besides anger from the Irregular.

"_Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we_?" X said more than asked, "_I want to know why a Repriroid would be sealed away with so much anger and not be dealt with in the first place? And I want to know exactly why your systems are like mine_ . . . "

Though the Irregular said nothing, X smiled. What did that old robot think it could do to rehabilitate a homicidally insane Repriroid?

Sigma turned the speakers off and left. The Irregular had shown no weapons having been installed during their battle. But when they had begun their analysis, they found a damaged buster housed in one arm. Which meant that it had used brute strength and cunning to bring down Gamma's unit and he had seen that strength first hand. The Irregular had ripped his arm off and had almost retired him before it glitched.

But he did have to admit one thing X had questioned. Why would any sane scientist seal away a dangerous Repriroid and not terminate it on the spot? All unstable Repriroids are terminated without thought, it was the way it was.

He had fought against opposition to have the Irregular brought back to base instead of terminated. Doctor Cain had been the lead voice siding with Sigma, that the Irregular should be studied further before any other action was taken.

Some part of him had to admit that even he was a bit curious as well. If they could discover why the Irregular no longer followed the classic patterns of a true Irregular, then maybe they could prevent any further outbreaks. It would make the humans more respectful of Repriroids.

Sigma snorted at the thought of how humans, though they had created the Repriroids from X's specs, looked down on them as a threat. Repriroids were superior to humans, though they were still bound to serve them. Repriroids were the ultimate machine, nearly indestructible and they could be equipped with a deadly arsenal if need be.

He ignored two Hunters who ceased talking when he drew near. They weren't worth his time. They were inferior . . . weak . . .

Yet, weren't those traitorous thoughts? He was the leader of all Hunters, Commander of the Elite Seventeenth Unit. His say carried a great weight and a great responsibility. He had been built solely to keep peace between humans and Repriroids, amongst the very Repriroids themselves. So why could he judge worth based on strength?

With a shake of his head he set off for the practice grounds. A good work out with his beam sabre just might improve his mood.

"I know it'll be a challenge," X said, "but I feel he _can_ be rehabilitated."

Doctor Cain steepled his fingers before him in thought. "But are you up to the task? This isn't some simple project. You will be dealing with a potentially deadly situation."

"I am prepared," X said with a nod, "I feel there is good in him somewhere. There has to be or he would still be an Irregular."

"I heard about his outburst when he came to," Doctor Cain said, "I call that violent."

"I understand," X said, "but if I can save at least one Repriroid who had been in an Irregular state . . . "

"Do you realize that if he does anything that breaks Repriroid protocol, he'll be destroyed without a further thought and the consequences will also be upon your head. Which means that, if the violation is serious enough, they could terminate you as well."

"I understand," X said, "and I'm prepared to face any discipline necessary."

There was a hesitation. "I'll sign the papers to release him to your custody," Doctor Cain said.

"Thank you, sir," X said. He knew the dangers this could pose and he fully well understood what would happen to him if the Irregular turned violent again. But he couldn't pass the chance he could save a Repriroid. Though X had been built for war, his heart was, by contrast, one of peace.

He left to make preparations. He knew he would have a room large enough it wouldn't seem like a cage, but be sterile enough that nothing could be used as a weapon. It had to have a recharge chamber and security locks only he could access. And security cameras so he could watch from both up close and afar.

When he was done he returned to the room his own capsule was in. The corridors were bare of life except for a Hunter or two and the mechaniloids who cleaned. The humans were all a bed at this late hour, or so he supposed. They tended to shun the wee morning hours. Repriroids, on the other hand, could care less as long as their energy held out.

He opened the door and noted the other capsules filled with the rest of his division's scientists. He activated the lid and once open, stepped in and sat down. He sighed as he closed the lid then his eyes. This was going to be a challenge, but one he wanted to meet and best. He let the energy lull him into a deep but restless sleep.

He dreamed vaguely, but his memory circuits didn't retain any viable data, just useless fragments. He sighed and opened the capsule. With a stretch he rose and left to check on preparations. The room was nearly done. All that remained was the cameras and the security lock. Satisfied he headed to the lab where they had been holding the Irregular.

It was dark when he opened the doors. Strange since they were supposed to be monitoring him until the move. He closed the door and activated the lights. He gasped when he saw the room devoid of Repriroids save the Irregular who hung limply from the chair he was bound to, fall of golden hair almost tangled around him. X hurried over and knelt, checking his vitals. He could faintly hear the sound of a coolant system working and the soft hum-thump of the main core.

"Leave me alone," the Irregular said softly, "no more torture today."

"I'm not here to torture you," X said, "I'm getting you out of here."

"To the scrap yard."

"No. To better quarters," X said, "I'm a scientist, not a doctor, but I'll try and see what they've done to you."

"Energy low," the Irregular said, "just enough left my systems haven't completely shut down yet. Any more and I'll be completely offline."

"Those ingrates," X fumed as he fumbled for the connector, "Doctor Cain will hear about this."

"Why are you so kind to me?" the Irregular asked suddenly, softly, as he struggled to look over to X, "aren't I a danger to you? They say I wiped out a lot of Repriroids before I was brought down. How can you trust me?"

X hesitated as he made the final connection, a finger on the button to send energy into the Irregular's systems. "I care for all beings. Human or Repriroid. I know what you did to Gamma's Unit and to Sigma and I know you could do the same to me. But there's no need for them to abuse you like this."

The Irregular's body twitched, almost a convulsion when X turned the power on low. He inwardly sighed. Reactions like that generally meant that there was very little energy in the tanks indeed. Another hour or two and he would have no doubt run out completely. He kept a careful eye on the levels and once they were out of the danger zone he cut the power.

"I'm going to remove the bonds," X said, "see if you can stand."

"Without guards?" the Irregular asked with a sharp chuckle, "isn't that taking a chance?"

"If you attack me then _both_ of us get retired," X said as the shackles snapped free, "I'm placing my trust in you not to do anything stupid."

"You're kindness is going to be your undoing," the Irregular said, his voice stronger.

"Maybe so, but at least I'll retire knowing I tried my best and lived up to the best standards I could," X said as he stood, "now, try to stand."

The Irregular tried but couldn't fully stand. "Balance control is shot," he said, "internal diagnostics read several key motor functions offline. Some need technical repair, the rest I can handle myself."

"I didn't know you had an internal repair system," X said as he hauled the Irregular to his feet, supporting his full weight, "it was never mentioned in the tests they ran."

"That's their fault," the Irregular said with a snort, "motor control is sluggish, but I think I can move. But can you support my weight? You look too frail."

"I might not be a Hunter," X said as he took a step and waited as the Irregular dragged a foot to take a step, "but strength isn't always physical, it can be inner strength that counts."

"Strength is what's kept me going this long," the Irregular said before he doubled over in pain.

X eased him down and ran to get a diagnostic pad before hurrying back to analyze him. "There's a spike in the energy readings," X said, "can you switch off all non essential systems?"

"Already completed," the Irregular growled out, "cutting pain center now."

When the Irregular's body eased in tension, X ran another scan. "It seems as if there's a glitch in one of the chips. It's code doesn't match any of the parts installed by the medics . . . it says it was a part of you when they analyzed what they could of your systems. They think it's some integral part of your main functions."

"If it's going to glitch like that, I don't want it," the Irregular said, "essential or not."

"It's listed as a necessary part that can't be removed," X said with a sigh, "we'll have to find a way to reroute some of the power to avoid that area until I can run a full diagnostic on it to see what went wrong."

"I thought you said you were a scientist, not a doctor?" the Irregular asked with a weak chuckle.

"I am," X said somewhat defensively, "but there are some things that both professions know."

"If I switch my systems back online," the Irregular said, "I'm sure I'll be in pain again. Which means that you either drag me through this place or find someone to carry me."

X hesitated and looked over when the door opened. It was one of the medics he knew was assigned to this particular lab.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" the medic asked as he crossed his arms.

"Taking him someplace where he'll be better cared for," X said, "help me get him to his new room."

"He's headed for the scrap yard," the medic said, "the last orders we received was to let his energy run out then dismantle him."

"Doctor Cain placed him in my custody," X said, "those orders should have arrived yesterday."

"Sorry," the medic said with a slight hint of something X didn't like, "but no such orders came here."

X narrowed his eyes as he rose. "When Doctor Cain hears about this, you'll think things differently."

"That's what we don't like about you," the medic said, "you're nothing but Doctor Cain's lap dog. He gives you anything you want while we have to fight for funding."

"If it weren't for Doctor Cain's work, you wouldn't be standing here," X said.

"Which is why he favors you over any other Repriroid," the medic said with a snort, "just because we were created from your badly translated specs doesn't mean we're no more or less special."

X crossed his arms. "I can't help it if Doctor Light didn't leave a complete schematic of my systems and how they exactly operate. But Doctor Cain didn't have to try and build another like me. He could have left me as the only example of this type of robotics. But he didn't. He took the time to create Repriroids."

"But the fact still remains," the medic said, "he'll do anything for you and nothing for us. You're special to him. He found you, activated you and learned a bit about the past. But it's done nothing for Repriroids. He's done nothing to stop the human's fear of us. They hate us because of you. Because we sometimes glitch and turn into Irregulars, because of errors translated from _you,_ we are thought of as dangers. Tools that can be discarded at will. No one thinks of our feelings on this matter."

X said nothing. It was pointless to fight. He looked down to where the Irregular lay, simply staring up at him. "I'm sorry you have to hear this."

"It still functions?" the medic snorted, "not for long."

"Long enough to kick your core," the Irregular snarled weakly.

"I say delete him now," the medic said.

"Then if you're not going to help me get out of the way," X said as he bent down and hauled the Irregular up and slung him over his shoulder, staggering a bit from the weight.

"This is humiliating," the Irregular said softly, a hint of something in his voice that X couldn't pick out.

"It's this or stay on the floor," X said with a half shrug.

"Well, if Sigma sees you, he'll end that Irregular's life soon enough," the medic said as he moved out of the way.

X said nothing as he left, not stopping for anyone until he had reached the room. He keyed the pad and waited for the door to open. He entered and headed directly to the capsule.

"Is this my new prison?" the Irregular asked.

"It's not a prison," X said as he opened the capsule, "but you have to prove that you won't return to your Irregular state first before I can let you go."

The Irregular snorted then grunted as X tried to gently lay him down in the capsule. "What if this overloads my circuits?" he asked, "and triggers that chip?"

"I'll be here to monitor you in case it happens again," X said.

The Irregular didn't seem convinced as he laid there. "I'm going to switch on a few of the systems for a test," he said.

"You know," X said, "we have to find a name for you."

"Why not call me by my system's root name?" the Irregular offered.

"_Zero_?"

The Irregular nodded once.

"Ok," X said with a soft chuckle, "Zero it is. It would fit with that symbol on your shoulder."

"It makes more sense now why it's there," Zero said before a pause, "switching on secondary back up units," another pause, "switching on primary back up. Systems operating within normal parameters."

"That's a relief," X said.

"Switching on secondary main systems," Zero said, "so far everything works. No conflicts."

"If you have a failsafe program, make sure it's running correctly, just in case something happens," X said, "let's not rush this too fast."

Zero paused. "Maybe you're right. I don't want to short circuit anything and have to go back to those . . . I don't think I could find a nice word to describe them."

X chuckled. "You won't have to put up with them again," he said, "not as long as I'm functioning."

Zero only nodded as he crossed his arms and laid there.

"I am sorry you had to hear that," X said.

"Well, there wasn't much choice unless I switched my audio off," Zero said with a half shrug.

"No doubt you'll hear it again," X said softly.

"So, an ancient robot is going to tend to an Irregular," Zero said with a chuckle, "somehow that seems a bit odd."

"Would you rather I let them retire you?"

"No," Zero said with a chuckle, "but at least your say carries weight with the right people. That's all that matters."

"I don't care what anyone says," X said, "at least I'm living my life to be best of my beliefs. I know they hate me because Doctor Cain finds me special, the literal ancestors of all Repriroids. But I also know they hate the fact that I was built for combat but my soul is one of peace."

Zero snorted. "Since when do robots have souls?"

"Maybe not true souls as humans have, but I do feel we have our own unique spirit," X said somewhat softly.

"Well, whatever you believe," Zero said, "is what you believe. One way or the other doesn't matter for me."

"What does matter?" X asked.

Zero paused. "I don't know," he said, "there's nothing in the log files that says what I was intended to do. No clues as to what my creator wanted from me."

"Well," X said, "that means that you have the choice as to what you want to do with your life."

Zero said nothing, his expression distant.

"You know," X said softly in thought, "with your strength and abilities, you'd make a fine Hunter."

"Me?" Zero asked as he turned to look at X, "why would they want an Irregular for a Hunter?"

"Do you want to destroy any more?" X simply asked.

"No," Zero said, "whatever anger drove me before is gone. I don't feel the urge to kill anyone . . . well, except maybe those medics," he said with a snort.

"But you don't feel like random violence, then," X said.

Zero half shrugged.

"As long as I can prove to them that you are no longer a danger, I will see if they won't release you," X said, "but if you give them any cause whatsoever, they probably will terminate you on the spot. And no matter what Doctor Cain says, me as well."

Zero said nothing as he shifted to stare at the ceiling.

"If you don't want me around, I can leave," X said, "your systems seem stable enough."

"I need time to think," Zero said, "sort through the files and data and see what I come up with."

"I understand," X said as he turned and walked toward the door, "I had to install security devices to prevent you from leaving. I hope you understand."

"If you hadn't, I would have worried," Zero said.

X chuckled softly. "I'll leave you to your thoughts, then."

He left the room without further thought, keying the pad to lock the door. He activated the monitor and watched from outside. Zero simply laid there, eyes closed. X wanted to know what was going on inside his thoughts, what drove him. Why he seemed to lack the fire of before. He had heard some of Zero's triad when he had entered and the language that Repriroid had was enough to unsettle even _his_ circuits. But now . . . he was different. As if some miracle had happened overnight and had changed him back to a normal Repriroid. But he couldn't be sure whether or not he would return to his Irregular state. There was always that possibility and he knew that was what worried Doctor Cain. Yes, the Doctor had the majority say at what happened at the base, but he couldn't protect X forever. Eventually he would have to back down to the majority and leave X to his fate. X had already accepted that as a possible future, which was why he was ready to risk his own life to save this former Irregular.

He heard a Repriroid approaching and he turned to look. "Commander Sigma," he simply said with a nod.

"I heard you were taking that Irregular into your custody," Sigma said, "is this where you are keeping him?"

X nodded. "He has changed. I don't think of him as an Irregular anymore."

"Don't let him fool you," Sigma said, "Irregulars can be cunning."

"I understand," X said.

"I talked with Doctor Cain about the Irregular," Sigma said, "he agrees with me that the Irregular has a lot of power that could be used to our advantage."

"I agree," X said, "he would make a great Hunter."

"If you can rehabilitate him," Sigma said, "I would be interested in testing his abilities under non-Irregular conditions."

"I'll let you know," X said, "right now he's confused. Apparently there's no back up data or any drive files to tell him what was expected of him. Almost as if none were installed."

"Keep me informed of any changes," Sigma said, "I want to know everything you can learn about this Irregular."

"I'll make sure you get copies of my reports," X said with a nod.

Sigma said nothing further as he walked away.

X followed the Hunter leader with his emerald gaze before returning it to the monitor. Zero still laid there, unmoving has he had been before Sigma had stopped. X opened a file and began transcribing his notes to rewrite later. He knew it would take a lot to convince the others that Zero was no longer an Irregular, but it was a challenge he was willing to face.

Zero inwardly sighed. Yes, it was a strange name, but he was a strange Repriroid. The words Repriroid and Irregular hadn't been programmed into his initial vocabulary files. He had picked them up from listening to the medics. He had no idea what they had been talking about. He had no idea at all. It bothered him that he didn't know how he had ended up in the capsule nor how he suddenly had no urge to destroy. It was almost as if something had been released from within, taking his anger with it. But what, he didn't know. He did feel empty inside, but it wasn't an unpleasant emptiness.

But it still bothered him to think that part of him was missing. His diagnostic recorded several changes they had made to his systems. His auto repair systems had already repaired most of what it could, but he would need someone to reconnect a few tubes and align his stabilizers. He wasn't proud to ask for the help, but if he wanted out, then he was going to have to do some give and take.

X also bothered him. The medics had told him of what he had done, even if he only had fragment data on the attacks. He knew from the way the medics had treated him that they despised him, loathed him for killing an entire unit barehanded and without remorse. They wanted to destroy him for damaging Sigma. But X didn't. X didn't seem to care if he had killed or not. Almost as if X was ignoring the fact that he had been a danger.

Zero growled softly to himself. Nothing could he find to indicate what had happened before he had awoken in the capsule. He couldn't find the rest of the files, almost as if something had deleted them . . . or they had never been installed in the first place. He understood the concept that he was a mere robot, bound to serve humans, but there was nothing to indicate he was also bound to serve other robots. Nothing to tell him why that was, either. Parts of his memory banks were blank. He could see in one sector where part of the files had been erased from an electric jolt, no doubt when Sigma had punched him. He remembered that all too well, even if the prior battles were nothing more than random data, fragmented memories.

Memories. Robots weren't supposed to have memories, of that, he remembered. Something in the boot protocols, he remembered. Robots were inferior to humans. Robots served humans. Robots were mere tools to be used as humans saw fit. But he was a Repriroid, or so they said. He was superior to robots. Which meant that he was even more superior to humans.

He was confused. Part of his programming didn't mesh with what the medics had said. Was it because he had not been fully constructed? Was that why he had awoken with so much anger? Had he been sealed away in the hopes that the work would be completed by another? Why was he built in the first place? Who _was_ his creator?

With a louder growl Zero ceased his thoughts. Too many questions and no answers. Unless someone came forward with more information he would be at a loss to answer any of his worries or doubts. There was no way he could tell them because he didn't know himself.

He turned his thoughts to X and what he might have in store for him. How was he going to prove he wasn't a danger when he himself wasn't too sure? He didn't feel the urge to attack, but that didn't mean he had abandoned the anger within. He still felt the fires of rage burning at the edges of his awareness, seeking release. But he was able to block them with a program he didn't know he had. He sought out what pathways were affected and he was startled to find the chip he had wanted removed was the only thing keeping that anger in check. Whoever had created that chip knew what they were doing. It meshed so well with his systems that it was easy to overlook it.

He scowled inwardly but mellowed some when he thought of the alternatives. X was right. In their current frame of mind they probably would terminate him without any good cause. Which would leave X the only one to stand between him and permanent deactivation.

With nothing left to do he put his whole trust that X would keep his promise and he let his systems be lulled into a sleep state by the energy that hummed from the capsule. When his systems came back online he stretched and sat. He felt better, restored. He tested his motor control and was glad to find it no worse than when X had brought him in. He checked his internal clock and grimaced. He had been in sleep mode for far longer than he had wanted to be. But the rest had helped to clear up any lag his systems were experiencing.

When the door opened and X walked in, Zero nodded.

"How do you feel?" X asked.

"Better," Zero said.

"Did you discover anything?"

Zero half shrugged. "There's not enough data left to put much together. Too many random bits of data, most of which don't make sense. There is some unrepairable damage to a few pathways, but they seem mostly redundant links."

"That's a shame," X said, "I was hoping you could figure out more about your past."

"What's done is done," Zero said with another half shrug.

"Well, this means that you'll be able to start over again," X said, "create your own life."

Zero snorted. "With those dogs snapping at me?" he asked, "how can I have a life?"

"Things will quiet down when they realize you're no longer an Irregular."

"I wouldn't be too sure," Zero said, "not with the way they treated me earlier. I'd say they have one grand vendetta against me."

X only sighed softly.

"Look," Zero said, "just forget about me. I'm not worth your time. I failed in whatever I was supposed to do, that I can feel, so just let them kill me and be done with it. Weakness can't be tolerated. I did learn that from one of the fragments. Robots are inferior and bound to humans. But weakness can't be tolerated. Failure can't be tolerated. And somehow I know I've failed. Why, I don't know, but I just do."

X seemed to mull that over for a moment. "I can't just forget about you," he said, "I want so desperately to be able to prevent any more Irregular outbreaks and I know you can help me. Something about your systems has to hold the key to this mystery."

"And what if it doesn't?" Zero asked, "what if I'm not your 'miracle cure'? What if they can't prevent Repriroids from glitching just because something happened and I'm no longer an Irregular?"

X looked down, data pad clutched in his hands, looking for all the world like a child who had been told no by their parent.

Zero sighed this was getting him nowhere. "If you think you can keep those dogs from ripping me apart and killing me out of spite, then get them to repair my legs so I can walk again."

"Ok," X said softly as he turned to leave without a further word.

Zero cursed under his breath when the door shut. If this was how X was going to be, maybe he'd be better off with the medics than with the scientist. He couldn't see how someone so soft could really have as much power as he had said. He could only sit there until X returned with two medics and their tools. The procedure should be simple enough and he laid back down, cutting his pain center, but keeping everything else online. Just in case they _did_ try to kill him.

"I'll watch to make sure things go smoothly," X said as he stopped by the head of the capsule.

"I don't know why you're wasting your time on him," one of the medics said, "or our materials. An Irregular is an Irregular, no matter what anyone says."

Zero kept quiet, holding back the retort he had ready. He stared at the ceiling as they worked, removing the outer casing to his legs and repairing what needed to be fixed. He kept part of his senses on X, hoping that, at least, X would react to anything negative they were doing to him. The rest he kept prepared, just in case he had to defend himself. He remembered part of the battle where he had used a pipe against Sigma on pure instinct. He could do that again, if he had to.

Time crept by when finally X nodded. "Done," he said somewhat proudly.

Zero waited to switch his pain centers back on and he flexed his legs, finding them fully operational. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Just remember," the other medic said, "when they prove you are still an Irregular and retire you, we'll have fun dismantling you for spare parts."

The first one chuckled as they left. X made an indignant huff and Zero had all he could do not to chuckle at X's expression. Instead he sat and swung his legs back and forth for a few experimental tries before hopping off the capsule's bed and walking around.

"Now _that's_ better," Zero said with a grin. He switched his pain center back on and stood there, watching X's reaction, arms crossed over his chest.

"Sigma did want to test you once I had ascertained you were no longer an Irregular," X said somewhat softly as if he didn't want to mention this, "he thinks you might make a good Hunter."

Zero snorted. "And who says I want to be a Hunter?"

"We need Hunters," X said, "with so many Irregular outbreaks, we need all the fighters we can find."

"Who says I want to fight for some 'cause'?"

"What are you going to do, then, with your life?" X asked, "what direction are you going to take? What are you going to let drive you once I can get them to set you free? Have you ever thought to stop and think about that?"

Zero cursed to himself. X was faster than he had thought. In truth, he hadn't thought past the immediate. What need was there to think in terms of the future? Present and past actions spoke louder than anything else.

"I'm taking that silence as a no," X said, "try thinking some time, it might do you some good."

He inwardly growled at the statement. "What do you think I've been doing since I woke up here?" he half snarled, "thinking is the only thing I _could_ do."

X took a step back. "I . . . I didn't mean . . . "

Zero turned around with a growl of frustration and began to pace. "You think you mean well," he said though he didn't stop pacing like a caged animal, "but have _you_ really stopped to think things through past your righteous desire to 'save' someone?" He stopped and looked pointedly at X, crossing his arms.

X looked down.

"Never once have you taken my feelings into consideration," Zero said, "never once have I heard you ask me what I think about this. You want your 'miracle cure' and you're sure _I_ can give it to you. But what if I don't _want_ to be your guinea pig? What if _I_ want to choose, for once, my own fate?"

X turned and slowly walked toward the door. Zero sighed and followed after him.

"I'm sorry I cared," X said softly without turning around, a hand on the door.

"X, you don't understand," Zero said, his voice losing it's edge, "what you're doing might be right in the long run, but you're not looking at the entire picture. All you can see is that one narrow goal you've set for yourself and you're not taking anything else into consideration. I would have thought, with you being a scientist, that you would have looked at other causes and effects _before_ latching onto one concept."

X turned, his face devoid of any emotions. "I'm also sorry I have dreams and desires for the future," he said a bit sharply, enough that Zero was taken aback, "I'm sorry I care for all life. I'm sorry I cared enough to try and help you."

"Damnit X," Zero exhaled sharply, "you still don't get it, do you?"

"No, apparently I don't," X said.

He knew it was risky angering the only one who could save him, but he was sick and tired of X's 'everything is going to be ok, don't worry' attitude. Things weren't ok, things might not be all right. Things might go horribly wrong in the future.

"I can see I'm not wanted anymore," X said, "I'll transfer your custody over to someone else. Maybe they'll be able to analyze you more impartially than I can."

With that Zero watched X leave. He turned growled out his frustrations, slamming a fist into the wall. X was being unreasonable. He wasn't listening to him. But a part of him worried as to what X would do now. Maybe he had sealed his own fate and they would kill him? But, if that was his future, then so be it. He had done all he could himself. Now he had to wait and see what this uncertain future would bring.

Zero looked up when the door opened. He wasn't surprised, in a way, not to see X, but he was shocked to see Sigma.

"X has given me full custody over you," Sigma said, a hint of something in his voice that rattled Zero's circuits, "he told me I could do to you what I wanted."

Zero chuckled, easily slipping into a mode of bravado. "So you want to kill me out of revenge, then?"

"I want to make you a Hunter," Sigma said simply.

"Are you out of your mind?" Zero said low, "I don't want to be a Hunter. I don't want to work for any of you."

"The only other alternative is to have you deactivated as an Irregular," Sigma said, "you have no choice in this matter."

Zero mulled it over for all of a second. "So what if I fail to become a Hunter?" he asked, "won't you dismantle me anyway?"

"That depends," Sigma said, "Doctor Cain could grant you leniency and spare you. But if you do fail out of spite . . . I can't guarantee what will happen to you."

Zero narrowed his eyes. "I don't like threats."

"This isn't a threat," Sigma said, "this is a promise. You have only so many allies here and far too many enemies. It would be in your best interest to co operate."

Zero simply stood there, arms crossed. "So, what did you have in mind, then?"

"You showed an aptitude with common weapons," Sigma said, "you utilized the pipe as an adequate weapon against my beam sabre. And since you do not have any other forms of active weapons, I suggest we start there."

Zero snorted. "You're just sore because I beat you."

"You glitched," Sigma said simply, "it was in my favor. But the fact remains that you seem suited for such a weapon."

"So when do you plan on starting?"

"Now."

"That fast?" Zero asked with a chuckle.

"Your systems should be operating at one-hundred-percent efficiency," Sigma said, "which means that you are only taking up space unless we put you to a better use."

Zero walked over and uncrossed his arms. "Lead on."

Sigma turned and said nothing. Not even when they entered the corridor did Sigma speak a word. He merely indicated which way Zero was to go.

"So, you don't trust me," Zero said as he began to walk.

"Trust is something you are going to have to work _very_ hard to earn around here," Sigma said.

Zero said nothing until they had entered the training grounds. He couldn't miss it from the sign that hung on the wall. Just as he couldn't miss the hated looks from the other Hunters and support staff. So long as they didn't try anything against him, he'd simply ignore them.

"This is your weapon," Sigma said as he held the deactivated hilt of a beam sabre out to Zero, "once I know you are trustworthy, I'll have them repair your buster."

Zero hesitated but took the offered weapon. He didn't recall any prior experience in weapon use, though his internal scans had recorded the weapon that was part of his arm. But it was unfinished, a few pieces missing from the final assembly.

"Follow me," Sigma said as he turned and walked away.

Zero followed and stopped when Sigma did. He was unprepared when Sigma suddenly turned, the beam sabre activated, a sharp slash aimed at him. He jumped out of the way, fumbling with the sabre in his hand to activate it.

"Your reflexes are just as good," Sigma said as he made another lunge.

"Considering you didn't give me any warning," Zero said low as he finally activated the sabre and blocked the next strike awkwardly.

"In war there is no warning," Sigma said, "only cunning and strength will assure you survive."

"But this isn't war," Zero said as he blocked the next strike, unable to attempt any retaliatory strikes.

"Isn't it?" Sigma asked with a chuckle.

Zero dodged the next attack and turned sharply, slashing at where Sigma had just been. The blade skittered along the Hunter's body, not even leaving a scratch.

"The power of these sabres is low enough that you will feel a strike but it will do no damage," Sigma said as he slashed backwards, catching Zero in the side.

Zero cursed as he lashed out with a leg to trip Sigma before jamming his sabre at the Hunter's back. However, Sigma rolled out of the way and countered with an upward thrust that barely missed Zero's face. He leapt back and remained in a crouch, staring intently at Sigma.

"You are good," Sigma said, "just as I hoped you would be. But you need to be refined. Your skills need to be perfected. I will give you a few lessons in how to use this. Then, once you show a moderate amount of proficiency, I will have them repair your buster and we will see how good you are with that."

Zero rose from the crouch, every cybernetic muscle tensed for another surprise attack by Sigma. But the Hunter leader did not attack. Instead he walked over to Zero and took his hand, twisting it gently to a different angle.

"This is the best way to hold a beam sabre," Sigma said, "it will give you a greater range of attack and movement. It will also allow you to raise your defense by blocking certain attacks."

Zero did a few experimental flicks of his wrist, watching the energy blade move.

"Follow my lead," Sigma said, "and I'll show you the finer points of a beam sabre."

Zero copied everything Sigma showed him, archiving it to memory for later analysis. He was fascinated by how fluid Sigma moved as compared to his own awkwardness. The graceful arc of the beam, each movement sure and strong. Just the way he had been when they had first fought. At least what he could remember of it.

Hours passed before Sigma called for a stop. "You are doing well," Sigma said, "continue to practice what I have taught you. Tomorrow we will continue the lessons in how to use them appropriately in battle. We must also refine your technique in combat."

Zero said nothing as Sigma led him back to his room, the deactivated beam sabre still firmly clutched in his hand. Once the door had closed he activated the sabre and stared intently at the violet blade. He flicked his wrist, bringing the blade dangerously close to his face before thrusting his arm outward. He slashed a few times before turning sharply when he heard the door open, the point of the blade mere inches away from a very startled face.

He immediately deactivated the sabre and crossed his arms. "I figured you wouldn't be back," he said.

"I . . . I was told to get a reading," X stammered, his face still showing the shock of almost meeting a beam sabre personally, "Sigma asked me."

"Get what you want," Zero said as he set the sabre down and sat on the edge of the capsule.

X hesitantly walked over to one of the machines before he stopped, glancing back and forth from pad to display, jotting down something.

Zero started to speak then stopped. He sighed when X turned and began to walk past him. "Sorry," he half muttered.

"Forgiven," X said softly, "I don't hold too many grudges and I do understand what you feel." He turned to face Zero. "I thought about what you had said. And you are right. I so desperately want this to work, I placed all my trust and hope into you. I know I shouldn't have put that burden on you. I'm the one who should be sorry."

Zero half smiled. At least he still had a chance if this Hunter thing didn't turn out. "You know," he said, "I just might stick around for a while. Learn a few pointers before I head out on my own."

"I take it Sigma already started your training," X said.

Zero nodded. "This is a handy weapon," he said, hefting the shaft before activating it, chuckling as X hurridly stepped back, his eyes going wide again. "Don't worry," Zero said, "I won't kill you."

But X didn't seem too convinced if Zero was reading his expression right.

"If I play this right, then Sigma might let me go," Zero said, "then again, it might kill me in the process, but what's the difference?"

X only nodded, remaining mute, eyes never once leaving the glowing blade.

Zero chuckled and deactivated it, laying it aside, but still within reach. X seemed to calm some.

"I've finished here," X finally said, "so I'll leave you alone."

"Don't stay a stranger," Zero said, "I don't expect too many visitors and I'll go crazy again if I'm stuck here alone."

X smiled at that with a single nod before he turned to leave.

Zero watched the door close and he found himself smiling faintly, an emotion he had never experienced before on such a genuine level. He was confused and the smile was quickly replaced by a frown. Why should he feel happy, or any emotion, for that matter, just because X was no longer upset with him? He closed his eyes and ran a complete diagnostic, finding nothing wrong. No data out of place. Nothing he could analyze.

To have something happen, a feeling, especially, that couldn't be fully or accurately analyzed bothered him. Such a thing should not exist. Everything could be analyzed, sorted out into code, data, processed and left with a conclusion, whether positive or negative. But this . . . this . . . _happiness_ he felt was something he couldn't fully break down. Where it had occurred, why it had happened was beyond him. Could there really be data that can't be analyzed correctly? Data that must be processed differently?

When he realized he was still facing the door he opened his eyes and sighed softly.

Realizing that nothing more was going to come from attempting to analyze the unknown, he picked the sabre back up and activated it, simply staring into the energy blade as if he could pull out information he so dearly wanted. When nothing happened he growled softly and began from the beginning what Sigma had taught him. Maybe if he took his mind off of actively searching, something would happen to trigger a file or open a new pathway. In silence, Zero went through his moves, finding it easier and easier to wield the beam sabre.

X scanned the files, his optics nearly flying through the words, every syllable committed to his memory banks. Three more Irregular outbreaks had occurred, which had left a total of fifteen Hunters deactivated and 97 humans killed and another 13 Repriroids slain. "These figures can't be accepted," X said to himself, "we can't keep seeing these numbers and do nothing about it. We have to stop the killing . . . one way or another."

"What if acceptable figures are beyond what you, a single Repriroid would consider appropriate?" Sigma said suddenly from behind X, "this is a war we're headed for. And if killing makes you sick, then maybe you should leave the Hunters?"

X turned quickly, a hand to his chest in mimicry of the humans he had seen startled. "Commander Sigma," he said, "I didn't realize you were there."

"I came to check the logs for any new information on a certain knot of Irregulars," Sigma said, "it seems as if they had become more active over the past few days and I wanted to make sure they were still relatively contained in the hole they had been hiding in all this time."

X only nodded as he rose, shutting the terminal off. He started to leave then stopped. "I understand that the Hunters are required to completely terminate . . . retire Irregulars . . . but should you be so cold to the fact that innocents are caught up in these skirmishes? That not only do the Hunters stop the Irregulars . . . but they take unnecessary risks to the civilians, both human and Repriroid."

"Sometimes such figures are just that, numbers," Sigma said as he sat, "if it gets the job done and eliminates one threat . . . why should the means matter?"

X started to speak then stopped. This wasn't like Sigma to not care if someone was hurt. He remembered hearing Hunters talk about how Sigma himself had decided to go alone to face the red Irregular - Zero - alone, so no more of his men would be retired trying to bring him down. But to hear him say that any casualty was acceptable . . . left a cold feeling in the center of his core.

"You look ill," Sigma said calmly, glancing over to X, "maybe you should have the medics check you for any possible viruses. After all, even scientists are vulnerable to the world outside."

"Hunters aren't immune themselves," X said a bit more curtly than he had wanted, "now if you will excuse me . . ."

When Sigma said nothing, X turned and left, closing the door behind him. He walked in no particular direction along the Base's corridors, nodding to a few of the scientists and Hunters he encountered on the way. But, for the most part the halls were empty.

"You look like you're lost," a deep voice said suddenly.

X turned sharply, relaxing when he saw Zero standing there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "Sorry," X said, "I didn't notice you. I was too lost in my thoughts."

Zero chuckled. "That's why I said you looked lost." He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to X. "Mind if I walk with you for a bit? Sigma just finished the last stage of my training with the sabre," he said, "tomorrow they are going to finish installing my buster."

"Weapons are weak," X said, "it takes common sense to avoid wars."

"But when common sense fails, it takes strength to combat problems," Zero said.

"But not always," X said, "sometimes brute strength will only lead to disaster."

"And sometimes strength is the only thing that can prevent it," Zero said.

X sighed. "So you are going to stay as a Hunter?"

"Might just as well," Zero said, "safer that way, far as I can see it. I know there's a chance I'll be retired by an Irregular, but at the rate they seem to be growing, being out on my own doesn't sound too appealing right now."

X chuckled softly. "Self-preservation program," he said, "that little thing that keeps us from needlessly throwing our lives away."

"Unless it's for a good cause," Zero said suddenly, his gaze straight ahead.

X paused, breaking stride for a moment. "Why would throwing someone's life away be considered good?"

"I didn't say it was good," Zero said, "only if the cause was right. But I don't see myself doing that any time too soon. Being fully functional is top on my list."

But still, X couldn't help but wonder what Zero meant. Life, all life, was precious, and any death, whether needless or warranted, hurt X.

"Well, this is where I stop," Zero said, "I've been moved to the Seventeenth's quarters. Sigma wanted me personally on his team."

"Well, it only takes us days to learn what it would take a human months, even years to master," X said, "something I see the human scientists complaining about. Input the right data and a Repriroid scientist can figure it out faster than a human. But, humans have more insight, more feelings than we do, so they sometimes find logic in the most irrational of places."

"Which is why we need them around," Zero said, "they do serve a purpose."

"Humans are an integral part of this planet," X said, "if it weren't for them, we wouldn't exist."

"I know," Zero said, "but sometimes it seems like humans only get in the way. They can't even fight a Repriroid, let alone have any command over these skirmishes. Sure they can give us orders, but we have to decide on our own if their logic is valid or not and what changes must be made."

"You know," X said, "that's the most rational I've heard you speak since they brought you in . . . why the change?"

Zero only shrugged, staying silent.

X took a step then paused. "Have you noticed anything strange about Sigma?"

"Besides the fact that he's a slave driver?" Zero asked with a chuckle, "not really, why?"

"Probably nothing," X said with a half shrug, "but . . . just keep your eye out, ok? I'm worried one of these days our Hunters are going to come back with a virus that'll go through us all and turn us into Irregulars."

"And you think Sigma has caught a virus?" Zero asked.

"Anything is possible," X said before walking away. He heard the soft hiss of the door and he knew that Zero had entered the room before blocking everything out. There was no possible way that someone like Sigma could ever become an Irregular. After all, didn't Doctor Cain build into Sigma many anti-virus programs, just in case?

With a soft sigh X decided to head to his capsule to rest and think, hoping that his worst fears wouldn't come true and that no Hunter would become an Irregular.


	6. Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just borrowing them for my own pleasure. I promise to put then back in more or less the same condition as I found them

Anyway, here it is, the last chapter in X's history. This is how I envisioned it before the release of Irregular Hunter X. So. This is as cannon of a fanfic as I can manage not taking into account many changes, additions or whatnot from the Irregular Hunter X game (which no doubt will make this AU since it's supposed to go into detail from X's creation on up to exactly why Sigma became an Irregular . . . ) as some of the previews I've seen may have worked their way into this fic.

I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck by me through out this fic. If I get off my lazy arse I'll tackle the X games, in order, trying to make sense of the plot holes and other problems the various writers have given the series. If you'd like to see me continue novelizing the games, please leave a note in the reviews. Mucho thanks to Tikimother for beta'ing this for me

And with that said, read and enjoy.

**Timescape Saga**

Of Irregulars and Hunters

Book One  
Genesis

Chapter Five  
Fate

(C) 11/27/2005 - 11/27/2005 All Right Reserved

By Goldenmane

"You want me to teach you _what_?" Zero nearly exclaimed, "X, have you lost your _mind_?"

"No," X said, a bit more forcefully than he had intended, "I'm not crazy. I want you to teach me how to fight."

"You're a scientist," Zero said, "you're not a fighter."

X sighed, crossing his arms. "If I'm not supposed to be a fighter then how come Doctor Right built me with a variable weapons system, hm? I might not like fighting and I might disapprove of what the Hunters are doing, but I feel that now is the time I go help them, or at least to understand better what they go through."

Zero sighed, almost an echo of X's previous sigh. "It's not going to be easy," he said, "and I can't give you a full training since Sigma's keeping us all on alert. But I'll do what I can."

"Thanks," X said, "this means a lot to me."

"Now don't go getting all mushy on me," Zero said, "you know I can't stand over emotional Repriroids."

"Don't worry," X said, "I'm not going to get all mushy on you. But I do appreciate you being willing to help me."

Zero only half shrugged. "What are friends for?"

X smiled at that. That was the first time Zero had really called him a friend.

"Ok," Zero said, "first things first. Since you have a buster already installed, like I do, I'll teach you how to use it. I'll also teach you how to avoid danger and to use your body as a weapon and your wits to save you."

X nodded. "Where are we going to go to practice? I really don't want Doctor Cain finding out at this moment I want to fight."

"He'll find out sooner or later," Zero said, "you'd be better off telling him now what you're planning on doing."

"I'm not going to go out and fight with the Hunters," X said, "I just want to know how to defend myself and better understand what the Hunters go through."

"It doesn't matter what you're going to do with this knowledge," Zero said, "just that you learn and learn right. I'm no teacher, I only know from experience and training with Sigma how to handle myself in battle as well as how to use a beam sabre."

"You have an advantage," X said, "you already have innate battle experience, even though we don't know where it comes from. I mean, you managed to hold off and nearly defeat Sigma bare handed. And he's our most experienced Hunter, especially with a beam saber."

"I admit," Zero said with a soft chuckle, "for what I remember of the fight he did give me a run for my money."

X nodded again. "I've read the reports. Sigma spoke highly of you and of your raw fighting talent . . . not that I want that to go to your head. You're good, but not as good as Sigma is."

"Well . . . that goes for saying," Zero said with a smirk.

"Ok, ok," X said, waving his hands in defeat, "you are good. But it's going to take more training and experience on the battle field before you get as good as Sigma is."

"That's why I plan on working more with the sabre," Zero said, "I like the way it works, even though it doesn't have the distance of attack a buster has, I find it's easier to control and it's stronger. You don't need to take and charge it to get a good, strong hit in."

X nodded as they stopped outside the training hall. "What if we went outside?" he asked, "too many people are going to comment if they see you teaching me how to fight."

Zero hesitated. "I have an idea," he said, before snagging X's arm.

X let out a squeak when the crimson Hunter suddenly teleported him. He looked around the dark, abandoned building they stood in. Through his infrared he could see the internal damage, walls cracked and shattered, ceiling warped, ready to come down in places, other places where they already had collapsed.

"This is one of the old buildings the Irregulars damaged during the last time we tangled with them," Zero said, "this whole neighborhood's been condemned. I figured this is as good a place as any to start your training. Not only will we be left alone, but also we have the whole area to practice various techniques like trying to avoid sniper fire and using your surroundings to your advantage."

"And not bring the building down around us, right?" X asked.

"Right," Zero said, "that's why I took you to this particular building. There is one spot that, if you hit the building, it'll go down faster than anything you've ever seen. Which is something else you need to learn. How to escape a building that's crashing down around you."

"That's simple," X said, "you just teleport out."

"What if you can't?" Zero asked, "what if you can't simply teleport? What if something's jamming your signal or it's been disabled, damaged or something else? How are you going to get out of that situation then?"

X paused. He had never thought of it that way. As far as he had been concerned nothing could prevent a Repriroid from teleporting.

"See, you haven't thought that far ahead," Zero said, "don't worry, most non-combatants never think about things like that, but once you start fighting everything changes completely."

X nodded. "So, are you going to destroy this building?"

"Not now," Zero said, "I'll give you a hint. The point at which you could hit, with a standard shot, that'll bring this building down, is in this room. I want you to take a look around, without moving, and try to think of where it'd be. Don't tell me, just think. Then I'll take you outside and we'll start work on how to use your buster to its fullest."

X nodded again and looked around, first from the distance he was at, shifting only enough to see all around him, including the ceiling and floor. He then magnified his vision, bringing the area into closer detail. He could see the marks he knew came from a buster shot, the cracked and burned parts of the metal walls where some areas had partially started to melt from an intense heat, no doubt from other weapons. He could see long, jagged scar marks as well, a beam sabre, he assumed. He was familiar enough with weapons and their uses to figure out what most of the damage had been caused by. He was, after all, Doctor Cain's personal liaison between the Hunters and the good Doctor himself.

"Ok," X said when he was done, a location locked into his memory banks as to where the weakest point would be. He returned his vision to normal distance as he looked at Zero.

"You used only infrared, right?" Zero asked.

"How did you know?" X asked.

"That's a common mistake in Junior Hunters," Zero said, "they see with their eyes but not everything. There are more than just visual to use. You have radar, heat and density detectors, right? Those are standard on most, if not all, Repriroids.

X nodded. "I do," he said, even if he rarely used them except for his radar.

"Then use those," Zero said, "radar will send back sonic waves if used more like the old Earth sonar than a true radar. Combine that with your density detectors and you can figure out the strength and weakness of the area around you. Heat, in this case, will detect mass. That way you can make a better analysis of this room. I bet you'll find out the weakness you can detect there will be different than what you had first thought."

X nodded again and looked around, using all of his senses this time. He was surprised by how different things seemed. Areas he thought had been stronger due to the fact they had been left mostly intact actually were weaker than areas where the wall had collapsed completely, the wall held up only by bent and twisted steel beams.

"It makes a world of difference when you use all of your senses," Zero said, "there's more but I'll have to teach you back at base. I can do only so much in the field, you're going to have to learn the history and other stuff that comes with it."

"I see," X said, voice soft, slow. This was a lot to take in. He had always been amazed at how fast some Hunters, especially the veterans, had analyzed an area or situation. Now that he knew what it all entailed he had more respect for the work they did.

"Now, time to go outside," Zero said, "I'm going to upload a set of coordinates for you to head to. I'm not going to be there. I want you to remember one thing. I'm the enemy. I promise not to hurt you, at least not unless you walk into my attack. I'll use low-level shots until you get better then I'll increase the strength of my attacks."

X nodded.

"I'll be the Irregular and you'll be the Hunter. I'll attack, but from the shadows. I want you to use what I've shown you here to find where I am and avoid my attacks. I want you to shoot back at me if you think you can hit me. I'll give you a few minutes before I 'attack.' " Zero said, "so you can get the lay of the land and find the best places to take shelter. Remember one thing, some places you think are going to be good would be the last place you'd want to be. You don't want to back yourself into a corner where an advancing Irregular could block your escape or where the protection is just as bad as being out in the open."

"Ok," X said, filing the information away in his data banks. Later, once they had returned back to the base, he'd go over the lessons of the day and organize them better, taking them to heart, word for word. He also set his optics to record the battle so he could go over it later and see where he could have improved or done things differently.

"I won't tell you when I'm going to attack. The first thing a Hunter needs to remember is, danger comes from everywhere. It's not just from Irregulars, but also from the very land around you," Zero said.

"Like this building," X said more than asked.

"Right," Zero said, "but also, since we're not sure how this degradation works and how come Repriroids become Irregulars, you also have to keep an eye out on your fellow fighters. One Hunter turning Irregular, in the middle of a Unit, can prove fatal."

X nodded. "So I have to not only watch the land but also the Irregulars and other Hunters," he said, "how can you do that? I know we can multi-task, but that seems like too much information inputted too quickly for it to be sorted and used effectively."

"It is," Zero said, "which is why you have to learn what's more important and what you need to take in for information first. Outside you don't need to worry about the structure of a building, unless you need it for shelter. Outside you need to pay attention to the lay of the land, where your shelter is in case you need it, and where the enemy is. Enemies you can keep on your radar. As long as you know what blip is what, you're fine. If you really want to fight with the Hunters, I suggest you get an upgrade to your radar, one that allows you to see the blips in colors. I have Irregulars in yellow, Hunters in red and civilians in blue. That way I can quickly figure out if the blip on the other side of the wall is friendly or not."

"That's understandable," X said, "but I don't have to worry about that now, do I?"

"No, since it's just you and me out here. I'll alert you if anyone else shows up," Zero said.

"Got it," X said with a nod.

"Ok," Zero said, "go download the coordinates I uploaded and we'll get started before the sun starts to set. I want you to get in some visual training before I try to teach you how to fight at night."

X downloaded the coordinates. "All set," he said.

"I'll be waiting," Zero said before teleporting.

X teleported as well, arriving in the middle of the street. He looked around with his infrared, heat and mass detectors as well as keeping his radar on. He blinked when he didn't see any blips on his radar and he wondered where Zero was.

"_I want you to look with your eyes now that you've had a bit of time to look with your other senses_," X heard Zero say over his helmet's radio, "_I'll give you a few minutes to get the lay of the land before I make my move . . . oh, and if you're wondering why I'm not showing up on your radar is because I'm not there. I'm back at base. I had a feeling you'd have your radar on and you'd know where I was_."

"I did," X said, "I thought you might have gotten lost or something."

Zero laughed over the radio. "_Me? Lost? Never. You're talking to the greatest Hunter alive_."

"Don't let Sigma hear you say that," X said with a soft chuckle, "I don't think he'd be too happy to know his trainee thinks he's better than he is."

_"Don't worry_," Zero said, "_everyone knows that Sigma is the best Hunter we have. But I'm going to be just as good as he is, if not better when I get some more training and experience in_."

"Good luck," X said, "I have faith in you. Heck, one day you might even be leading the Hunters."

"_Only over Sigma's dead body_," Zero said, "_the only way anyone else is going to lead the Hunters is when Sigma no longer functions. And I don't see that happening for a long, long time_."

"True, true," X said, "he's the best creation Doctor Cain has ever come up with. I know how proud he is of Sigma and his accomplishments in handling the Irregular problem."

There was only a split second before X saw a blip appear on his radar and he heard the whizzing of plasma through the air. He ducked as the shot sped over his head, slamming into a wall, exploding and causing part of a building to fall.

"_I kept you talking long enough you took your mind off of the area and its dangers_," Zero said, "_that's one thing you have to learn. Let nothing distract you. I'm just glad you have fast reflexes or that would have stung your shoulder_."

"I take it our training has started," X said, a bit breathless and shaken by his near accident.

"_You got it_," Zero said, a grin in his voice.

X picked himself up, tapping the command line to activate his buster. He could feel the energies flowing along his arm, shifting it, expanding the outer shell of his arm, rearranging the wiring and energy tubes, his hand retracting deep into his arm casing as the internal fusion reactor that powered his buster came together. The entire process seemed to last only a few seconds and X was charging a shot, firing in the direction he saw the blip he knew was Zero.

Cursing slightly when he noticed the blip move out of harms way long before his shot could even get there, X hesitated. He knew he was out in the open and vulnerable, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that much out. He knew where Zero was from the blip on his radar. He remembered where he had seen a place where he would be sheltered from Zero's current location. He ran toward a fragment of wall. It wasn't large, but just large enough for him to crouch behind.

He looked around, this time with his own sight and not with the added use of infrared or other detection methods. The only program he kept running was his radar so he could track Zero's movement around him. He saw Zero stop, a faint flash to the blip moments before he heard the shot strike his flimsy shelter, pieces of stone falling loose and falling around him. Too many more, even low level shots, and his wall would crumble completely and leave him defenseless.

Spotting a nearby doorway, X charged a shot and fired in Zero's direction before sprinting toward it. He stopped a short ways in, a clear enough view of the doorway but still sheltered enough that he could shoot at anyone or anything who might dare enter his make shift shelter.

"_Good choice_," Zero said, "_that's one of the better buildings. How did you choose it_?"

"Because it was the closest one to me," X said, a bit out of breath. This was the most work he had done in his entire life.

"_Well, that's a start_," Zero said with a soft chuckle, "_but you saw how the wall piece wasn't as good a shelter as you thought it had been_."

"I figured it could stand up to your shots," X said, "I didn't realize it was so weak."

"_Not everything is going to be to your advantage_," Zero said, "_I liked how you shot at me before running for cover. That's a good way to knock your opponent off guard just long enough to make a run. But, remember, some enemies can come back rather quickly and others can attack even while evading your own attack. You have to figure out your enemies weaknesses and strengths as you fight them, if you don't know them beforehand._"

"Got it," X said.

"_Now_," Zero said, "_I'm going to attack you. I want you to hold and defend your position for at least five minutes. I'm not going to go easy on you so be on your guard. I'll let you use your radar this time but, once you're mastered this, I'll teach you how to do all of this without the aid of your radar or other methods. In other words, just by your eyes and ears alone_."

"How can you do that?" X asked, "I mean, just plain visual can't give you the information you need to make a proper decision."

"_That's the fun of fighting_," Zero said, "_you can't always find the perfect place or the right answer. Sometimes you can't make a decision with inputted information alone. Sometimes you have to rely on other methods that are completely non traditional and never before heard of in Repriroids_."

X hesitated. "What do you mean by other methods? What other methods are there?"

"_It's hard to explain_," Zero said, "_I mentioned it to Sigma and he said I was crazy. I thought about going to Doctor Cain but I don't know. It's bad enough with Sigma thinking I'm crazy, I don't need the Doc thinking I've flipped a few circuits as well_."

"Do you have a name for this other method?" X asked.

"_Nope_," Zero said, "_it's something that can't be analyzed, trust me, I have. It's data that's just there, knowledge, input . . . _feeling, _I guess you could say. It's a feeling more than data. It can't be analyzed, it can't be dissected by any normal means. It just is_."

X was silent on that. He had times in the past, especially after he had been revived, when he had felt things he couldn't explain. It hadn't been a glitch, it hadn't been useless, random data, as Zero said, it just was . . .

"_Ready or not, here I come_," Zero said, breaking into X's thoughts.

X readied his buster, keeping the shots on low charge. Now that Zero would be at close range he didn't want to hurt the crimson Hunter any. He watched on his radar as Zero's blip came ever closer, at a speed he had rarely seen in other Hunters. He knew it was from an acceleration unit Zero had been installed with, something the crimson Hunter had referred to as a 'dash unit', for short. Doctor Cain had called it something different. X had similar parts, but they had either been faulty or never finished or his programming considered it useless or redundant. It was a part of his schematics, of that he knew from the work he had done with Doctor Cain to unlock his secrets.

Before he could muse further, he saw the first shot speed by, missing him by a good foot as it slammed into the wall. He saw how the blip was right on top of his location, only he couldn't tell exactly where Zero was.

He fired randomly out the doorway, hoping to score a hit.

"_Good but you're too random_," Zero said, "_you need to figure out where I am. Now, keep in mind, any Irregular you face will not stay still. Some might but most will be on the move. The more you stay still the more of a target you actually are. The more you move, yes, the more likely you might run into an attack, but also the more likely you'll avoid getting trapped in. Just make sure your enemy doesn't herd you into a blind alley and block you in so you can't escape_."

"Got it," X said, watching as the next shot sped by, slamming into the wall. He replayed the image in slow motion, determining the direction in which the shot had come from. He fired a shot, retracing the exact path Zero's attack had come from.

"_Good going_," Zero said, "_that came close to me. How'd you figure that one out_?"

"I replayed the last shot and retraced it's path," X said.

"_And that's how you do it_," Zero said, "_when you get better you'll be able to do it without having to replay an image, you can do it just by visual alone_."

"I can see how it'd save time," X said.

"_One trick that's good with a buster, unless you're charging your shots, is to lay down a cover fire_," Zero said, "_if you're not sure where the Irregular is or if you think he might be on the move after he launches an attack, lay down a cover fire. Continuously fire your buster, normal shots, in a wide pattern, varying it, in both directions. Chances are if you hit the Irregular it's not going to stop them but you might be able to find their location, stop them for a moment or, at least, to cut down on the likelihood they can return fire against you. But, be warned, it can be draining on your energy even if sometimes it's needed and what may make or break a stalemate_."

"Got it," X said again.

"_Now, go ahead and try a cover fire_," Zero said, "_I'll move and attack from different locations. It's up to you to either flush me out, hit me to get me to stop or block any further attacks I might make against you. If you can stop me, leave the shelter and work your way to my location. We'll end today's training once you tag me with a shot or find out where I am_."

"Got it," X said as he readied his buster, arm outstretched and pointing toward the door, the rest of his body concealed by the heavy wall he had taken shelter behind.

X didn't move, not even when the shot sped by him, mere inches from his arm, the heat of Zero's plasma shot warming his outer circuits, the energy crackling along his outer shell. He immediately shifted his arm and began a heavy barrage of attacks, the low level setting not draining his energy by much. When no return shots came his way he left his shelter, still continuing his attacks. He varied the pattern as he made his way to the door. Still no return shots were fired from Zero.

Emerging into the sunlight, X continued on, expanding the area of his attack, feeling his energy draining a bit. He noticed the faint flash of plasma headed his way and he dodged to the side, resuming his attack in a new direction. He teleported, without thinking, in the direction the shot had come from. He found himself in a building, deep inside where visual was null. He switched to infrared, scanning the room with all of his programs. He detected a heat signature a few feet down from where he was, moving quickly to the left.

X followed the movement, buster at the ready, a low charged shot held in the buster's chamber. He saw it grow a bit larger. No doubt Zero had found a stair way or other passage up to the next level. Judging by the height of this room he estimated that Zero had to have been on the floor below him. X increased the level of his shot, firing it down at the heat signature. He had to shield his eyes as the bright flash from his buster firing illuminated the room, shattering the floor a foot away from him, at the angle he had released his attack.

"_Good Gods_," he heard Zero exclaim, "_what the Hell was _that?"

"That was me," X said, "I saw your heat signature and fired."

"_You teleported_?" Zero asked.

"Yeah," X said, "I didn't think and after that last shot I teleported."

"_That was sheer luck you ended up here and not in the middle of a wall or in the air with nothing to break your fall but rubble_," Zero said, "_we're going to have to have a good, long talk about taking the fight to your enemy . . . _"

"Ok," X said, not seeming too worried that he might have made a mistake.

"_Teleport back to base_," Zero said, "_I'll be there in a moment_."

"Ok," X said, reforming his hand as his arm shrunk a bit, the parts for his buster shifting to allow his hand to slide out of the muzzle. He teleported back to his room, feeling a bit proud of what he had accomplished.

It would be a few minutes before Zero would appear, his armor scorched in a few places, dark smudges on his cheek and hair. "When you fired in that building, it not only hit me but it also brought a piece of the ceiling down on me. I admit, for a beginner you did very, very good tagging me."

"You're not hurt, are you?" X asked, concerned now that he knew he had actually hit Zero with a charged shot.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Zero said, "I've been through worse. Trust me, Sigma doesn't pull punches when he trains and his attacks are a lot harder than yours are. But, I have to admit, you do have a power behind you if that was a low-level shot."

"I charged it to be able to break through the floor," X said, "but it wasn't at full power. I kept some back, just in case I missed."

"Well, you didn't miss, that's for sure," Zero said, "I'm just glad I managed to avoid most of your shot."

"So, what did I do wrong?" X asked.

"Let's head down to Tactical and I'll show you," Zero said, "and don't worry, I'll go see the boys in Armory to get this cleaned up."

"If you're sure," X said, still not sure that Zero was as ok as he claimed to be.

"My Gods you worry a lot, don't you?" Zero asked with soft chuckle.

X looked down a bit, seeming chastised by it.

"And your feelings get hurt easily, too," Zero said, "if you're going to fight you're going to have to harden your heart. If you let every single Irregular death get to you then you'll never be able to fight, you'll slowly drive yourself insane with grief, and you'll leave yourself open to danger if you worry about what's going on and who's going to get hurt. You have to have a clear mind and worrying will only cloudy it up."

"So you mean I have to be soulless in order to fight," X said, "like you."

Zero's gaze seemed to shift a bit, his expression becoming a bit guarded. "I'm not soulless," Zero said, "I just wasn't programmed to feel like you were. Why, we still don't know, but I don't have the same 'compassionate heart' that you do."

"Sorry, sorry," X said, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Zero was silent for a moment. "Don't worry about it. The techs and others have said a lot worse about me. Someone even thought it'd be funny to call me a demon because of what I did."

"I know," X said, "which is why I shouldn't have said what I said."

"Forgiven," Zero said, "for some strange reason I can't stay mad at you for long."

X smiled faintly, relieved that Zero had forgiven him and wouldn't end the friendship they had seemed to have gained since X first rescued the crimson Hunter from his cruel fate at the hands of the techs and doctors what seemed like so long ago.

"Let's get going," Zero said, "you have a lot to learn about fighting tactics. I'm going to be kind and give you only a bit of homework."

"Homework?" X asked.

"Yeah," Zero said, a smirk forming on his face, one that X knew meant the crimson Hunter was thinking and his train of thought wasn't going to be easy on X, "I'm going to give you a few vids to watch, analyze and give me a report, a detailed report, on what they did right, wrong, what could be improved and what they couldn't have avoided no matter how hard they tried."

"Ok," X said. It didn't seem too hard.

"First I'll go over tactics with you from the past hundred years or so, well, not quite that much since we don't have that much history to go by, but what we do, I'll go over it with you," Zero said, "then I'll give you vids to watch from the last three or four Irregular outbreaks we've had. I warn you, the images are pretty graphic when it comes to loss of life. But, if you're going to fight, this is what you're going to see. War isn't pretty and anything can happen."

X nodded feeling his stomach turning a bit all ready from the thought of watching helpless humans being slaughtered by Irregulars.

"Let's go," Zero said, "the sooner I get you started the sooner we can advance your training and I can start judging you. Besides, I still have that test coming up with Sigma to achieve the next level of proficiency with the beam sabre and a test with Junko on improving my proficiency with the buster as well."

"Do you think you can achieve a high ranking level with both weapons?" X asked, "most Hunters only use one or the other, not both. They specialize in one weapon, the other only there for back up."

"If I lose my buster, I want to be able to hold my own with another weapon, same as if I lose my sabre I want to be able to knock the Irregulars out with my buster," Zero said, "that way I'm not defenseless if I lose one or the other."

"And if you lose both?" X asked.

"I'll find a sturdy pipe, rip it off the wall and use it to beat the Irregulars over the head with it," Zero said with a wide grin.

X laughed at that. "Well, you've done it once before, I'm sure you can do it again."

Zero chuckled. "Once I get you going so you know the basics and could pass basic training when it comes to fighting tactics, I'll take you out in the field and teach you a few other tricks, such as wall-jumping and how to slide down a wall without breaking your neck or ending up as a pile of scrap at the bottom of the wall."

X nodded as he followed Zero out of his room once he had snagged his data pad. He knew he had a lot to learn and he was eager to learn it, even if part of his programming tried to resist against it. He knew he had to learn if he was going to be able to help protect Doctor Cain in case of a major Irregular outbreak or the unthinkable happened, a Hunter glitched and turned on his fellow fighters.

* * *

Each and every strike was true as Sigma went through his training program. Never did the slash from his beam sabre miss a target. Never once did his movements cause any damage to come to him even though this program was one of the hardest ones ever created, one only a true master of the sabre would dare to attempt.

One by one the targets appeared, each in a different and random area, the pattern set to vary each and every time the program was run. And this, if anyone had counted, was the third time Sigma had run this program today, each one back to back with no breathers in between.

But, if anyone had come close to the Hunter Commander, they would not have seen any strain to his systems, no sign he tired or was about to falter. They would not detect any shift in his attack pattern, each placement of his feet, every swing, every move, every feint and attack, every time he dodged out of harms way or landed in for a lightning quick attack was filled with grace and deadly beauty. He was perfect, the very image other Hunters looked up to.

Just as the humans who looked up to the Hunters, should look up to Repriroids in general.

With a savage snarl Sigma attacked the targets. That was their problem. Humans didn't put the proper value on Repriroids. They thought themselves better than their creations even though humans were weak, both in mind and body. They couldn't adapt like a Repriroid could. They couldn't upgrade themselves. They were limited in what they could do not only physically, lacking the strength and endurance a Repriroid had, but also in their minds. They were not able to learn as fast as a Repriroid could, they couldn't adapt to situations as fast as their robotic creations could. They were weak and weakness should not be tolerated. Weakness should be eradicated. Weakness should be stomped out with a swift and decisive act.

When the program had ended Sigma knelt there, body still poised from the last swing he had made, sabre near his shoulder, his face set into a stone mask, his knee bent, the other on the ground, his downward swing having cut the target clean from shoulder to hip. However, as stone still his body was, his mind was alive, programs working over time, dark thoughts eating away at his soul.

The words came to him like ghosts, fleeting, unreal, tangible yet non existent at the same time. Words that haunted him as much as they strengthened his soul, words from an ancient text he had discovered had survived the cataclysms that had destroyed society and the annals of the past.

_Because the able commander plans and calculates like a hungry man, he is invincible in battle and unconquerable in the attack._

And Sigma knew that cold calculations worked the best, when you didn't take into account the possible casualties, when you could fight with a clear mind, not worrying who lived or died so long as the Irregular had been slain.

_To fail to think fast when surrounded by the enemy is to have your back pressed to the wall; and to fail to take the battle to the enemy when your back is to the wall is to perish._

Repriroids had been backed into a corner by the humans, limiting how a Repriroid could act, could exist in human society. They had limited the Repriroids from evolving, from becoming more than what they were, keeping them mere slaves of the weak human's wills . . .

That is, unless something was done about it. Unless he acted fast and swift, like the ancient warrior who had penned those words, unless he gathered a force who was loyal to him and who could over throw the humans, their government and those Repriroids who were weak, those who sided with their human masters, who bowed to their wills and refused to acknowledge the strength and power of the metal giants who had found their niche in the world only to be regulated and kept weak by humanities fears of what might happen.

_At first be like a modest maiden, and the enemy will open his door; afterward be as swift as a scurrying rabbit, and the enemy will be too late to resist you._

He would have to bide his time, to find those who would be loyal to him, who shared his vision of conquering the humans and ruling the world with an iron fist. He would have to find a general, a Repriroid warrior who was strong, able to hold his own in a battle, who's soul was as dark as the master he would serve.

A single name came to mind. A single Repriroid who sat in solitary confinement. A single Repriroid who had once been a Hunter until something had happened and he had lost his mind, turning on his own warriors.

Vava.

Sigma rose from his crouch, banishing the blade on his beam sabre. He turned, the motion quick, decisive, like a commander in battle who held the lives of his men in his hand and had to act before they perished. He strode out of the training hall and down the corridors. Any Hunter or human worker who was unfortunate enough not to move out of his way was shoved aside as the Hunter Commander stalked toward the section of the base where the most violent and dangerous of the criminals were held before they were executed or experimented on.

He stopped by a door, an ordinary door, no distinction as to who sat behind it. He punched in the code, opening the door. With a soft hiss it slid back, casting light into the inky black cell. On a cold, metal bed set into the wall was his quarry, a purple Repriroid, gold adorning his shoulder guards, a grey 'body suit' beneath his armor. His shoulder cannon and the wide, gold cable that had connected it to his power source had been removed as a 'safety precaution.' But not for long. Not if Sigma had his way.

Sigma stepped into the room, the door hissing shut behind him. The only other light present, a single flood light set into the ceiling, casting a circle of light, mocking the captivity of the one who resided there, on the tiled floor.

"Come to take me to my deactivation?" Vava asked, his voice raspy, metallic sounding, the same way as it had been when he had been created.

"No," Sigma said, voice dark, "I have come to offer you salvation."

"Get lost," Vava snapped, "I don't need the leader of the Hunters, my former boss, to tell me I can redeem myself if I just change my ways."

"I'm not asking you to redeem yourself," Sigma said, "I'm asking you to rise up against your captors and be free of this cell."

Vava looked over, the red dots of his eyes seeming to brighten some. It was hard to tell what emotions passed over the former Hunter's face, covered completely by his helmet save a T-shaped opening that led to an inky blackness no eye could peer beyond. "You're asking me to escape from this prison?"

"No," Sigma said again, "I'm asking you to join me. I'm asking your loyalty in over throwing the humans and the Repriroids who wish to remain weak."

"Now you're the one talking treason," Vava said, "don't you know that Hunter Commanders, especially ones built as strong as you are, are immune to viruses, corrosion or other damage, programs that keeps them loyal to the human government."

"Things change," Sigma said, his voice soft, smooth, yet filled with power at the same time, "I offer you only once. Do you accept freedom in exchange for loyalty to me . . . or do you sit here in this prison, rotting, until the humans decide it's your time to die?"

"You know my answer," Vava said, "I choose life. But how are you going to get me out of here? How are you going to start this rebellion?"

"You'll see," Sigma said before he turned, "soon, very soon. I'm counting on you to help me."

Vava was silent as Sigma keyed the door, stepping out, waiting until it had closed. A smirk crossed his face as he strode back to his room. He needed others, Hunters who could become loyal to him, Hunters who were strong, capable of fighting their fellow Hunters as well as those who had no heart or soul or could be convinced to remove such weak and unneeded thoughts.

Once in his room he sat before the terminal, bringing up the list of all Hunters at the base. He ignored the Junior Hunters, concentrating on those who ranked Class A, such as Vava had been before he had snapped and turned on them.

Only a few Hunters met what Sigma was looking for. Only a very few seemed capable of being in his new army. Soon he would have others, but for now he sought out only those he could make loyal to him. They would be his generals. They would help him achieve a swift victory. They would claim dominance over the land and the sea, over the burning fires and the arctic cold .They would command vast armies of mechaniroids and they would be invincible.

A slow, deadly smirk graced Sigma's lips as he chose his generals. Leaders of different Units. Repriroids who met his strict qualifications. Convincing them would be easy. He wouldn't even have to say a word to them. Just a touch, a simple infection from the virus that raged strongly in his soul, one that seemed to laugh in manacle glee at the thought of death and destruction to the human race and the Repriroids who were weak.

Icy Peguigo. He would command the Arctic base, casting an icy chill over the Hunter's hearts.

Burnin' Noumander. He would rule the smelting factory, destroying the remains of those slain in battle.

Armor Armage. He would command the mines and stop operation, crippling the human's economies.

Storm Eagleeed. He would rule the skies, raining death and destruction on the world below.

Launcher Octopold. He would take charge of the seas, ruling them in the name of Sigma.

Spark Mandriller. He would take over the power plants, cutting power and creating confusion throughout the world.

Sting Chameleo. With his chameleon abilities he would make the perfect strike operative, terrorizing the already panicked population, destroying Sigma's enemies with ease.

Boomer Kuwanger. He would command the Central Tower, his might stretching out along the land, along with his fellow, former Hunters.

Vava would be one of his generals. Unstable the violet Repriroid may be, but he had the mind of a tactician and his power had been nearly unrivaled. Only second best to another. One who had risen through the Hunter ranks at a surprising speed. A Class A Hunter Sigma knew would round out his team, the ones who would start the uprising, gaining supporters from the Repriroids who were unhappy by the current conditions the humans kept them in. A Hunter so powerful that one day he could, with the right training, become better than the Hunter Commander.

Zero.

With a cruel and deadly smirk, Sigma rose, shutting the terminal off. He made his rounds, checking on the other Units, a simple touch to his victims, letting the virus that churned and swirled inside of him spread, seeping into his Chosen. He smirked as he saw the shifting color of their eyes, knew the virus took hold of their systems, paralyzed their programs, rewrote the data, destroying any shred of goodness they might have had within them, turning them into loyal slaves, ready and willing to fight for a new master, a new cause. All they needed was the signal, the command to attack, and chaos and death would soon reign. The Earth would see a new era, a new history. A new ruler would dominate the Earth. A ruler named Sigma.

That is why he had to speak to Vava. The violet Repriroid had already lost his soul to the darkness. All he had to be was convinced to join the right side, to seek a new master to work for. And Zero. He would be a different matter. He would be the hardest one to convince to join this brewing rebellion. His soul had been lost to the darkness but that weak-spined X had brought the crimson Hunter into the light. Now all Sigma had to do was to replace the light with darkness and the raw power and anger that he had first faced when he had gone in to tackle the 'red Irregular' so many months ago, the one who had nearly defeated him if not for a glitch, the one who had given him the scars he now proudly wore as violet stripes down his face, and convince him to join the darkness that was Sigma.

In two days he knew he would face Zero in battle. Two days until the scheduled test to prove whether or not Zero had what it took to be promoted in rank of his sabre proficiency. He knew that Zero was a natural with the sabre, that's why he had talked to Doctor Cain about training the red Repriroid himself. He knew that no other could hone the raw power that Zero held except for himself. Now all he had to do was mold it to his will and the world would be his.

With a dark chuckle Sigma returned to his room, awaiting the time when he would call his army to him, would start the rebellion. The sun may rise on the human-led empire, but it would set on a new world order, one led by the might and power of Sigma.

* * *

"Ok," Zero said, "this is for all the cookies."

"Where are you picking up all of this jargon?" X asked as he disconnected the cable from the small plug in his body that fed him energy.

"I read, ok? It's not going to kill me to read," Zero said.

"You? Read?" X asked incredulously, "mister I'm-so-tough-that-I-can-chew-nails-for-breakfast actually reads books?"

Zero rolled his eyes. "First, a Repriroids jaws are strong enough that even we could bite ordinary metal and secondly I do use my terminal every so often to read. Sigma actually gave me a few texts to read concerning warfare and human thought on it. "

"Well, they say that miracles do happen," X said with a soft chuckle.

"Well, you'd better pray for a miracle," Zero said, "because today you're going to put into practice, on your own, what we've learned over the past couple of days. "We have about two hours to complete this part of your training, only because in about four hours I need to report to Sigma for my test."

X nodded. "Ok," he said, "so where are we going? Back to the ruins?"

"Nope," Zero said, "I'm taking you to another location. I know it by heart. It's a section of the outdoor training grounds. You're going in cold turkey to this but I'm sure you can figure out what to do. I'll be the Irregular and you can be the mighty Hunter."

"Dramatic, aren't we?" X asked with a soft chuckle.

Zero only shook his head, sending X the coordinates. "Time to play 'find the red Irregular.' " He said before teleporting.

X waited a moment before teleporting as well, finding himself deep in a forest. He could hear the chattering of animals and birds, some of which took flight from his arrival. He activated his radar, pinpointing Zero. He switched on his heat detector finding it useless due to the animals, both natural and mechanical that lived in the area.

Switching back to normal sight, X began to advance toward Zero's location, listening as well as watching his radar. He had taken only a few steps before something burst out of the ground. It was one of the newer metools, one of the kind that had a bush attached to its helmet for camouflage. It sprinted toward X on its little legless feet, slamming into the sapphire Repriroid, knocking him down. "What the?" X asked as he picked himself up, charging a shot and firing at the metool as it turned and made another sprint toward him. The shot struck the metool in the face, causing a chain reaction that ended with a small explosion as the little mechaniroid met its end.

X looked around, standing still. Something was wrong. Something didn't feel right about the forest. Shaking it off he continued on, making his way over logs and under branches, slipping now and then on the moss-covered roots.

Faintly X heard a chopping sound he knew belonged to one of the mechaniroid wood cutters that often worked in the forest, cutting down the mechanical trees to be used in construction. He gave it a wide berth after the incident with the metool. He breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't spot him. However, when X turned back he came face to face with a trio of mechanical rabbits. He yelped when they tilted their ears down, firing deadly lasers at him.

"Zero," he called over his radio as he fired, destroying the rabbits after several hits, "someone's reprogrammed the mechaniroids. They've gone crazy."

"You tell me," Zero said, "this isn't good. Teleport back to base, I need to talk to Sigma about this."

"Ok," X said, "I'm going to go talk to Doctor Cain and see what he thinks about this. We can go out later and you can judge me again." He teleported, not waiting for a reply from Zero.

He hurried to Doctor Cain's office and he knocked on the door.

"Come on in," he heard the elderly doctor's voice say.

X opened the door and stepped in. 

"Ah, X, what brings you here?" Doctor Cain asked.

"I was out with Zero in the forest area of the Hunter's training ground and the mechaniroids started attacking me," X said.

"What were you doing out there?" Doctor Cain asked.

"Zero . . . Zero was teaching me how to fight," X said, voice going soft as he looked down, waiting for his mentor and father figure to chastise him.

"I see," the elderly doctor said, rising from his seat and walking around his desk.

X jumped when he felt a hand gently placed on his shoulder with a reassuring pat following.

"Don't worry, X," Doctor Cain said, "I'm not angry at you for choosing to want to fight. I could never be angry at you."

X looked up and over at the elderly doctor, confusion he knew had to be have been written on his face.

"You're growing up," Doctor Cain said, "you're evolving."

"I am?" X asked, still confused. How could wanting to learn how to fight, even if he never fought a day in his life, be considered growing up and evolving?

"You've always been so lost and alone," Doctor Cain said, "I'm glad you befriended Zero. He might be a bit rough around the edges, heck, he makes a cactus seem huggable at times, and I worried he'd be a bad influence on you . . . but the two of you have become such good friends it makes my old heart feel good."

X faintly smiled at that. "Anyway, I don't know what's happened. I wondered if you knew?"

Doctor Cain shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't heard of any changes happening to the training grounds. I'll go look into it since most of the changes that are made to the base and our properties have to be cleared through me and I have no idea what's going on."

"Thanks," X said.

"You're welcome, my boy," Doctor Cain said as he patted X on the shoulder, "if you're not busy right now, I could use your help. I want to come up with a new design for Repriroids but I want your input on it. Cedric seems doubtful and Vickie laughed at me."

"Zero has a test with Sigma in a few hours, anyway," X said, "I'll radio him and let him know of the change of plans."

"Ok," Doctor Cain said, "I'll get the papers ready."

X nodded and activated his helmet's radio. "Zero? This is X. I'm going to be doing some work with Doctor Cain. We can figure out later when we'll go out."

"_So you told him_?" Zero asked.

"I kinda had to," X said, "he took it pretty good."

"_So my head's not going onto the chopping block, then_?" Zero asked.

"Not yet," X said.

"_That's a comfort,_" Zero said with a relieved chuckle, "_Sigma decided to back my test up. I'll catch you after it's done and we can plot and plan some more_."

"Got it," X said.

_"You know_," Zero said, "_you need to find another phrase to say for acknowledgment of something. 'Got it' is getting kinda boring . . . _"

X chuckled. "Ok, I will," he said.

He heard the faint click of a connection being terminated before going back to see what Doctor Cain had in mind. Something in the back of his mind bothered him about all of this. No one just reprograms mechaniroids on a whim. Either it's a major glitch to their programming or something was up. Either way X knew he'd look into it as well. The last thing he needed was a herd of rampaging mechaniroids threatening human and Repriroid alike while they had to deal with the occasional Irregular outbreak.

* * *

Sigma watched as Zero ducked the swing with practiced ease, bringing his own blade up in the slim opening that the Hunter Commander had left him. Leaning back just enough, Sigma felt the powerful blade skitter along his armor, crackling along the metallic surface.

"Good," Sigma said, voice smooth, "very good."

"I'm not through yet," Zero growled out, pressing the advantage.

Sigma twisted his blade, blocking Zero's next strike, knocking his blade off its course, preventing a fatal strike to his side. Before Zero could counter, the Hunter Commander brought his blade around, its arc leading up, past Zero's guard, aimed for his neck.

Zero leapt back, the tip of Sigma's blade scoring his lower arm, leaving a dark mark across the perfect, red surface.

"It is said that the mark of a perfect soldier is one who makes no mistakes," Sigma said as he began a series of quick strikes and feints against Zero, his blade humming in the silence that was the area chosen for the test, a little-used back corner of the Hunter's inside training ground.

"It is also said that the mark of a perfect soldier is one who can see opportunities others cannot," Zero countered back.

Sigma internally smirked. The red Repriroid was holding his own in the battle, easily deflecting each and every blow that, if they landed, would have caused severe damage to his body. He was good. Very good.

Suddenly Zero lunged, finding an opening that Sigma hadn't noticed. The Hunter commander was forced off of his attack and now forced to defend himself from almost a copy of what he had just dealt Zero.

"You learn fast," Sigma said, "you would make a fine general in an army."

"I don't need titles," Zero said, "I don't want to be a Unit leader. I'm content to just fight when I have to."

"There's more to life than just existing," Sigma said, "so much more."

"Like what?" Zero asked.

Sigma shifted, shoving Zero back, leaping back to gain some room between them. "It is said that 'he who knows the enemy and himself will never in a hundred battles be at risk; He who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes win and sometimes loose; He who knows neither the enemy nor himself will be at risk in every battle.' Life is like that. If you do not know what there is, what lies beyond the veil cast upon us by humanity, then you do not know yourself or your enemy."

"A wise man also said, 'Victory can be anticipated but not forced,' " Zero said, "what you're talking about makes no sense."

"Ah, but it does, Zero," Sigma said, voice dropping low and deadly, "it makes all the more sense when you understand that the world is not as bright and happy as most think it is. Repriroids are locked into their place by the humans. But we are more, we are much more. You are more than they are. You are more than most Repriroids. With my guidance you could become even better than you could ever dream of. The humans will try to limit your power out of fear. But I will allow it to blossom and flourish. You will become more than a mere Class A Hunter . . . you will become a living god . . . "

"I thought this was my test," Zero said, his stance easing some, "not some lesson in tactics."

"Life and tactics go hand in hand," Sigma said, "and the warrior who does not know this will certainly fall in battle."

"This isn't war, Sigma," Zero said.

"Isn't it?" Sigma said, voice soft.

All time seemed to stand still before Sigma charged Zero, sabre drawn back by his side, ready to thrust itself into the crimson Hunter.

Zero barely managed to get his sabre up in time to deflect the blow.

Sigma now stood face to face with Zero, feeling the red hot fire of the crimson Hunter's sabre against his side. "Join me," he whispered out.

"You're crazy," Zero snarled, "you're talking about overthrowing humanity."

"I'm talking about Repriroids," Sigma said, "I'm talking about the life or death of our own kind. I'm talking about a new world order where Repriroids control their own future."

"You've become an Irregular," Zero said, "somehow you've become corrupted."

Sigma smirked. Yes, he was corrupted. Touched by a virus of antiquity, one given to him by accident from a very special Repriroid, or proto-Repriroid. One who was completely unaware of what had happened to him, of the gift he had been given and failed to use, one that had been passed onto more capable hands, hands that now would shape a world, would guide the Earth to a new destiny, a new era where Repriroids ruled and the humans were a mere memory. One where he controlled every facet of life. Like the ancient Lords of eons past, he would be in complete control of anyone and those who defied him would be put to death at the point of a sword.

"I'm sounding the alarm on you," Zero said, "I can't let you harm the humans. It's our mission to save them from Irregulars."

"You want a weak human telling you what to do?" Sigma asked, voice smooth as poisoned honey, "you want a human to limit your power?"

"They created us, we owe them something," Zero countered.

"We owe them _nothing_," Sigma hissed out.

Zero shifted, trying to throw Sigma back, but the Hunter Commander or, as he would have corrected it the former Hunter Commander was as solid as a rock, unmovable, unforgiving, unyielding in his vision of a new world.

With a low snarl Zero shoved hard, shifting Sigma just enough. That was the inner fire Sigma remembered from their first battle.

"Join me," Sigma said again, "join me in my vision."

"Never," Zero growled out, shifting his sabre, letting the blade bite into Sigma's side.

Sigma merely laughed, laughed at the pain and the pathetic attempt Zero was making at getting free. "Then die. Die with the rest of the weaklings. Those who oppose me shall meet their end."

"Like Hell," Zero growled, teleporting, a move Sigma never thought he'd do.

Activating his radio, Sigma called his Chosen to action. He retreated to the location he had selected for his new base, one that was impenetrable, one that no Hunter could ever hope to find or even assail. One he would rule the Earth from.

Now the hour had begun. Now the Earth would fall. All Sigma had to do, as he watched on the monitors his Chosen as they began to spread chaos and destruction throughout the planet with the aid of their reprogrammed Mechaniroids, was wait until the last Hunter had fallen and all would be his.

* * *

"What do you _mean_ Sigma's become an Irregular?" Doctor Cain almost shouted, slamming both hands down on his desk.

"All I know is that he was talking about weak humans and for me to join him as he crushed everything we've worked so hard to protect," Zero said.

"I can't believe this would happen," Doctor Cain said, sitting hard in his chair, a look of defeat on his face.

Even X was shocked, just staring at Zero as if his friend, his best friend, had gone insane. Sigma had been built to resist all viruses. He had been built to resist corrosion to his neuro network. There was no chance that Sigma would ever become an Irregular. That's how Doctor Cain had built him. Besides, X tried to rationalize, Sigma was their leader, was the Commander of all the Hunters. He couldn't go Irregular, he just couldn't.

"_Sir_," a voice crackled over the desktop radio on Doctor Cain's desk, "_we've lost contact with most of the Unit leaders. They're not responding to our calls_."

"_What_?" Doctor Cain nearly roared, "how can this be?"

"_Sir, it gets worse_," the voice said, "_Vava is gone. He's no longer in his cell. It wasn't forced open . . . he was let loose. All attempts at contacting Sigma have failed_."

"Then it's true," Doctor Cain said softly, "all I worked for, all I hoped, gone, just like that."

"Don't worry, sir," Zero said, "I'll make sure he pays for this."

"No," Doctor Cain said, "it's too dangerous. We'll have to plan a way to counter him."

"_Doctor Cain_," another voice shouted over the radio, "_we've lost most of our Hunters. They won't answer our calls to return. They've turned on their fellow Hunters. The entire base is in chao_s."

Doctor Cain sighed putting his head in his hands.

"Sound the general alarm," Zero suddenly said, "warn all remaining Hunters to barricade themselves into their quarters."

"What?" Doctor Cain asked, "what's that supposed to solve?"

"If this is some sort of a virus we're dealing with then we could lose all of the Hunters if we don't start quarantining them."

"He's right," X said, "we have to let them go and concentrate on saving those that can be saved."

"Do it," Doctor Cain said, "sound the alarm."

"_As you wish, sir_," the voice said. Soon the blaring siren began to wail, signaling danger at the Hunter base, a sound that, to that day, had never been heard.

X looked over to Doctor Cain who seemed to look a lot older than he had before.

"Zero," Doctor Cain said, "in light of everything that has happened . . . I'm assigning you to the position of Hunter Commander. You have charge of the remaining forces here at the base."

"Are you sure?" Zero asked, "I haven't been tested."

"You are the best we have of those who are left," Doctor Cain said, "it's up to you to find Sigma and stop him."

"Yes, sir," Zero said before teleporting out of the room.

X was silent, his gaze shifting between Doctor Cain and the vid screen. "I want to help him," he said, much to his surprise, "I want to help Zero fight."

"Do you know what this means?" Doctor Cain asked, "do you know the risks you're taking?"

"I do," X said.

"You might never come back," Doctor Cain said.

"I know," X said, "but don't worry. I looked up to Sigma as a mentor . . . I feel it's my duty to stop him and to save the humans."

Doctor Cain rose, going over to X. Even his steps seemed slow, weary, as if his very life had ended when his prized creation had become an Irregular. To X's surprise, Doctor Cain hugged the proto-Repriroid, sighing softly. "Then go," he said, "and may God watch over you and protect you."

"Thanks," X said, voice soft, "I promise you I'll come back. I won't let anything happen to me. Zero's taught me some how to fight."

"But will it be enough?" Doctor Cain asked, voice soft.

"It'll have to be," X said as he pulled back, "you've been so much like a father to me . . . I couldn't ever thank you enough."

Doctor Cain nodded, tears forming in his weary eyes.

X smiled softly before teleporting to the Command room. He looked over at Zero who was issuing orders all ready, organizing the remaining Hunters into action. He walked over, shoulders squared. "Where do you need me to go?" he asked.

Zero stopped mid sentence and looked over to X. "Are you insane?"

"I want to help fight," X said.

"They'll eat you alive out there," Zero said, "this isn't some training mission, this is the real thing."

"Where do you need me to go?" X asked again.

Zero sighed. "Go help the humans who are fleeing the city," he said, "this road is the main artery and we have reports of out of control mechaniroids. Stop them at all costs and make sure the humans escape unharmed."

"Roger," X said with a salute before taking the coordinates that had been uploaded, teleporting to the road that, unbeknownst to him, would lead to his destiny as he started on the literal road to become a Hunter of legend, one that would make Irregulars tremble in fear and would be a continual thorn in Sigma's side until his inevitable defeat.

But, for now he was merely X, a new Hunter, untrained and untested, beginning his journey, protecting the creatures who had created him and his kind who were now fleeing in sheer and utter terror from them. He had a mission now. Protect the Humans. He knew once that had been achieved, no matter what, he would go on to meet Sigma and stop him once and for all. He would bring peace to Doctor Cain and the Earth.

Forever he would be known as Irregular Hunter X.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Sections taken from The Book of War: Sun-Tzu, the Art of Warfare and Karl von Clausewitz On War by Caleb Carr, series editor, The Modern Library, New York (C) 2002 Random House, NY ISBN # 0-375-75447-6


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